


Summer Sands

by Livvy Moore (Tauria)



Series: Lady Cravenheart [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Assassins' Guild, Female Protagonist, Gen, Grief/Mourning, High Fantasy, POV Alternating, POV Female Character, POV Male Character, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, and it's easily skippable, the rape/non-con happens in a dream during ch 7
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-12
Updated: 2018-01-22
Packaged: 2019-03-03 22:44:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 13
Words: 54,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13351059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tauria/pseuds/Livvy%20Moore
Summary: Alinora left her homeland, guilt and fear weighing on her shoulders. She now seeks a way to defeat the man who has stolen her throne and oppressed her people. Unfortunately, she is still yet untrained–but not for much longer. Following an old mentor's advice, she seeks out the Black Swans, an assassins' group based in the desert.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, and welcome! 
> 
> This is one of three prequels to my in-progress novel, Metanoia. I highly recommend checking out Innocence Lost first, since it provides background for Alinora's behavior :) 
> 
> Both Innocence Lost and Summer Sands were written when I was planning to write Metanoia in a different way, which switched between the past and the present. The present would follow the journey of the past through Alinora's journal entries, and a parallel character arc would unfold. While I still like the idea, the past was far better thought and planned, and was required for context in the present/future, so the idea was scrapped. I then ended up with over 50k of unusable writing. So... now we have prequels ;)
> 
> You can also find this work on FictionPress, here:  
> https://www.fictionpress.com/s/3312862/1/Summer-Sands
> 
> If enjoy this story, maybe leave me a comment? Or send me an ask on Tumblr. My main/fandom blog is ladycravenheart--my writing blog, livvywrites.

_Sometimes the little girl who was afraid of the dark becomes the thing she fears most… just so she isn’t afraid anymore._

–Nikita Gill

 

_I left Mynera. I kept to the forests until I reached the village of Illeth. The population was almost entirely made up of the Valai—valley elves—who had settled here to be close to the Elenai. They did not recognize me as princess… but they did realize very quickly that I was one of the Alarai—one of the Elenai-human hybrids. Not that I knew this term at the time—I still considered myself half-elf, as did most of the world. Alarai was a term that was reserved for tightly-knit elven communities; it had yet to spread far._

_There, I first found a butcher. I sold him much of the meat from the creatures “Liera” and I had hunted. There wasn’t a lot, as we had been preoccupied by… other things… but there was enough that I made a decent amount of coin. I sold the furs at a tanner next._

_Leaving my home was a difficult decision. It haunts me daily. I will always wonder what would have happened if I had chosen to stay. But... leaving my home was not the only difficult decision I made in those early days._

_I couldn’t keep both of the da’lia with me. I wanted to—oh, how I wanted to. But I was going to the desert. Even if Verdani sat at its edge, it was going to be difficult terrain. Especially for creatures used to a valley, with verdant grasslands and plenty of water._

_I couldn’t part with Ezzi. I’d helped to raise her—the black fur a stigma that only I seemed to see past. Ezzi was loyal to me above all. Only death can separate a da’lia and rider._

_It had to be Brynoir, yet that didn’t make the decision any easier._

_I almost cried. I refused to. Crying was a weakness I couldn’t afford—or so I believed. Brynoir was one of the few pieces of Liera left in the world. But I would do her memory a disservice if he wasn’t taken care of properly. And he wouldn’t be. Not in the desert—not with me splitting my care between him and Ezzi. Not when I started training, and my days would become consumed._

_Besides, what did I need with two mounts anyway?_

_Brynoir stayed in Illeth… and I know not what became of him. I like to imagine that some young Volai girl or boy saw the gentle spirit in him, and… decided they wanted him. Their parents were kind enough to purchase him, and he served a new master or mistress until it came time for them to leave this world._

_The thought was one of the few that could make smile, back then. I smile now, even._

_The journey to Verdani was a long one, but I reached the city in record time. I barely stopped to sleep. Half-elf though I was, I inherited enough of my mother’s blood that I could get away with trancing instead of sleeping. I still needed about two hours, though—and I dreaded those two hours with everything in me._

_Ezzi was blessed with plenty of stamina. It wasn’t as if I pushed her hard. We didn’t run. We just… walked. It gave me a lot of time to think. I spent a lot of time ruminating about the events that felled Mynera—about my own failures._

_I spent a lot of time playing back the last time I saw Redd and Chloe._

_“Something’s been prowling around the Sage’s house lately.”_

_Could it have been one of the shifters? Was it a trap?_

_“He doesn’t want you there.”_

_Or maybe it wasn’t. Maybe there was never a beast. Maybe the Sage knew—maybe he saw it. Maybe he knew that Liera had been replaced and had assumed that the same fate had befallen me as well._

_Or… maybe he knew it was just Liera. Maybe he regretted naming me as heir. Maybe he wanted me to die._

_Or maybe he always meant for me to take the path I did._

_I didn’t know. My emotional state was bad to begin with… but with those thoughts tumbling around my head; with no one there to pull me from them…_

_I had always been good at over-thinking. At worrying. At mentally backing myself into a corner. At working myself up over nothing._

_It’s why I was always… so… meticulous. So careful. I checked my bags at least thirty times. I kept a mental—and sometimes physical—checklist of everything I was going to do—and the things I wanted to—and the things I was supposed to do. I did nothing without considering it first._

_I worked myself up and down, and up again. I thought about what would happen if Redd and Chloe and Sage Ethari were fine, and if they went looking for me. I pictured joyous reunions. Tears and laughter and hugs._

_But my nightmares infected them._

_Ethari, Redd, and Chloe became shapeshifters. I fell for the trap once again, and I paid the price. I couldn’t escape them—not this time. There was no magical serpent to save me; no convenient childhood memory to keep me from dying. I always woke up before the moment of my death, but… the dreams shook me. They changed me._

_The worst of the nightmares, though, were not the ones where my friends had been replaced. They were themselves—no possession, no mind control, no shifters. And…_

_They told me, in those dreams… that they wished I was dead. I was a poor leader, who had abandoned my people without checking to see if any of them were alive, if they had survived. I was a poor friend, daughter, and lover. I hadn’t noticed that the person I claimed to know better than myself had been replaced. I was a terrible person, who deserved what she got._

_The list of my sins ran for leagues. I couldn’t argue with them… because, as was the nature of a nightmare, they spoke only the words my own mind provided. The truths that I believed._

_These dreams changed me. Irrevocably. I will never be the girl that I was—and I don’t want to be. She died with Liera, with her parents. She was lost with Mynera. A new woman was born that day… and those nightmares were part of her formative years, after birth._

_You can’t trust, they told her. You cannot let anyone in. Everyone you care about is just someone to be used against you—someone who can stab you in the back, either as themselves or as someone else. Everyone must be kept at arm’s length. Further, even, if you can manage it._

_You cannot love people. And people cannot be allowed to love you._

_It is easier and safer to be on your own. And truthfully, it’s what you deserve. You don’t deserve to have people who love and care about you—not if you can’t even realize when they’re not themselves._

_Those are the things that this newly birthed woman grew up hearing. These are the traits she adopted. And when she—when I—walked into Verdani, that was the personality she had adopted._

_Verdani was the training grounds for the woman I would become._

Verdani was even hotter than Alinora had expected. The desert air was dry and the sun’s light was harsh. She had taken to keeping her skin covered—though she ended each day completely soaked with sweat, it was better than getting sun burnt again. She’d had to use some of her limited funds to purchase a salve to soothe the burning of her skin.

She was glad that they were only in a city that bordered the desert—there was no way the coin she had gotten in Illeth would be enough to pay for water for both her and Ezzi. And she doubted she’d be lucky enough to find an oasis.

Alinora rolled her shoulders; closing her eyes as they popped and stretched. She put the knife down in between a pelt and pile of bones. She had just finished skinning and deboning her morning’s hunt—a desert hare. She wrapped the meat in cloth and put it aside. The hide, she stretched taut across a wooden stretcher and put it up in a row with the other pelts she had taken. Three hares, two coyotes, and one desert fox. When she was satisfied that the pelt was secure, she went down the line, checking each of them. The fox and one of the coyote pelts were ready for sale.

She took them down and carefully packed them away, next to a sack of meat. She’d take it down to the markets and do some business while she observed the patrons.

It had been nearly a week since she had arrived and she hadn’t found anyone connected to the Black Swans. Their training hall was well hidden and all of them were well trained in discretion, as she hadn’t caught anyone flashing a swan figurine to a merchant. She had hoped to catch one of the apprentices, but she should have known better—the apprentices had likely had the importance of discretion beaten over their heads.

She was close to giving up on finding someone to challenge and just getting the information from a merchant. Sneaking around after dark was risky, sure, but she was willing to bet that she could find one of the Swan’s suppliers… and in the light of day, flash the figurine and get a name. She’d continue her original approach for a couple more days, though—no use in doing things half-heartedly.

She packed all of her things neatly into a bag and emerged from her tent. It was hidden behind a rocky outcropping outside of the city—a ways off of the path. She’d done her best to ensure that you would actually have to be looking for it to find it, but she kept all of her most valuable and precious belongings with her, just to be safe. Ezzi was tethered to a makeshift post just beside the tent. She didn’t normally like to keep her tied—she trusted that Ezzi wouldn’t stray far from her unless frightened—but this was an area Alinora wasn’t familiar with. She didn’t know anything about the locals—whether they be people or predator. Still… the tether wasn’t tight. If Ezzi was truly frightened, she would break free from it easily.

She checked Ezzi’s food and water—cheap buckets she’d pilfered on the way south—and, satisfied that the da’lia would be fine for a few hours, she headed off, pack hoisted on her back. The city was only a few minutes away. The guards let her through the gates with barely a glance, accustomed to her presence and trusting that a half-elf such as herself couldn’t do much damage. They were most certainly wrong about that, but she wasn’t about to correct them.

The heat seemed to increase tenfold inside the city. The streets were clogged with people; strangers bumping shoulders and knocking elbows on their way through. It was enough to make Alinora shudder. She pulled her cloak tighter around herself and clenched the strap of her pack. Steeling herself, she entered the fray. It was a challenge not to shudder at every brush; every slide of fabric against her.

The markets were loud. Stalls were set up in the center of town, a few feet in front of even more stores with indoor wares. Peddlers and merchants alike shouted across the way about their wares, inviting passerby to come look at what they had on offer. Most of the peddlers were charlatans—promising cure-alls for cheap prices and tickets to a wonderful oasis where food and water would never run out. The former were harmless, but the latter were usually fronts for bandits—luring travelers out into the desert for easy pickings. It was disgusting; her fingers itched to do something about it. She had to consciously remind herself that she couldn’t solve the world’s every problem… even if she wanted to. She didn’t have that kind of power, and never would.

Alinora weaved her way through the streets; her hair was sticking to the back of her neck, her clothes beginning to cling to her skin. Her throat was dry and scratchy. She didn’t reach for her water, though—she only had so many flasks on hand, after all, and water might have been cheaper here than other places, but it was still expensive. She had two more to go before she needed to make the trip down to the river again—and that was a four hour walk, even when riding Ezzi.

She walked until she reached a furrier—located conveniently next to a butcher’s shop. A few other patrons mindlessly milled around, observing the wares on display and enjoying a respite from the heat. Alinora didn’t bother waiting—she headed straight for the counter.

“Two more pelts for you,” she said.

The dwarf manning the stand didn’t look any happier about the heat than she did; sweat glistening on his brow and his face etched in a frown. “Not much for small talk, are ye lass?”

“No point in it.”

He snorted. “S’pose that’s true. Whaddya got for me?”

“Coyote skin and a fox skin.” She laid them across the counter. “In fine condition, as you can see.”

He scrutinized them for a minute. “Aye. Some fine quality work you do, lass. Ten copper for the coyote and five silver for the fox?”

Alinora considered. Coyote were a copper a dozen around here—you couldn’t turn around when you were hunting without hitting one. Foxes weren’t exactly rare, but they were more common further into the desert, and fast and nimble. Honestly—it sounded like she was the one getting the better end of the deal. Two months ago she would have been upset; she had never liked getting (or needing) special treatment… but… now, she could use all of the help she could get. “I’ll take it,” she decided. Survival was her motto.

He nodded and passed the money across the counter. Alinora pocketed it as discreetly as possible before turning on her heel and heading back out of the shop. She slipped into the butcher’s place next door, glad the two were close enough she didn’t have to worry about squeezing in between anyone. There were even less people in here; the butcher’s didn’t get busy until sometime after the sun reached its peak. There was, however, one man. A dwarf. He looked average—not too short, not too tall. Dark hair and ruddy skin; a long braided beard hung from his chin. He was dressed in a green tunic over dark gray trousers; a golden belt cinched around his waist. As Alinora was walking in, he reached up to ring the bell and summon the butcher from the depths of his shop.

Alinora leaned back and watched; her head tilted to the side. There was something about him…

The butcher came out from one of the doors leading further in, wiping his hands on a red-stained apron. “’Ow may I help you?” he asked, looking bored.

The dwarf lifted his hand onto the counter; his sleeve flicked in an odd manner. She caught a brief glimpse at an elegantly carved head—black in coloring and curving sharply into a beak. “Your finest cuts, please.”

Alinora straightened slightly; her breath catching in her throat. She hadn’t even been looking yet—but perhaps that was the problem. Why wouldn’t they schedule their supply runs when the stores would be most empty? Why wouldn’t they only venture into shops with a door?

“O-of course, sir. Coming right up. How many?”

“Ten pounds.”

The butcher gave a sharp nod; the sunlight reflected brightly off of the back of his head. He ducked back into the back again, rummaging around. He came back swiftly—the fastest Alinora had ever seen him serve a customer—and passed the meats off to the dwarf. The dwarf packed them away and stacked ten gold pieces on the counter before turning on his heel and exiting. Alinora made sure to get an idea of where he was headed before she walked up to the counter.

“Brought some meat. Caught a hare this morning. It’s not much, but…” she shrugged and plopped the meat on the counter.

The butcher glanced over it and said, “Three copper.”

Alinora gave a short nod. “Fine.”

He paid her and she left. Quick and simple, just how she liked it. Perhaps she might have tried to haggle before she caught the scent of her quarry, but… she had finally seen signs of life on a trail she thought cold. Any huntress knew you couldn’t afford distraction when that happened.

Alinora didn’t bother with discretion as she followed him. She tried to at least look like she was trying to stay unnoticed—but only because she wanted him to underestimate her.

If he was as good as the guild promised they were, he would notice her whether she tried to be sneaky or not. He was a dwarf at least halfway through his five hundred years. She was a seventeen year old—nearly eighteen year old—girl.

She might have had a better chance in the forest, but even that was doubtful.

When he finally did catch on—if he wasn’t aware of it immediately—he would lead her somewhere quiet.

Lucky for her that’s what she was aiming for. She reached in her pocket and gripped the swan carving tightly. If it wasn’t, she’d be in big trouble.

As she followed him, she took the time to observe him more closely. He was shorter than most humans, and all of the Elenai. Broad shoulders. Dark hair. But he had missed a few spots on his last touch up. At the right angle, the sun caught glimpses of red in his hair and his beard. It caught glints of silver at his collar; his wrists. Lightweight armor beneath his clothes, then. Most likely thin chainmail or mithril.

She would bet that he was armed, too. At least one dagger in each boot; maybe more weapons hidden in his sleeves. Who knows what else he might have on him as well? She would have to stay vigilant.

He took odd paths to where he wanted to go. Roundabout methods that took him longer to reach each store. She thought she was imagining it, at first. She didn’t know this area well, after all. But it became clear that she wasn’t.

He didn’t avoid the crowds, as she might have expected. Instead, he journeyed straight through them; calling out to market vendors and sharing nods with passerby. It was a struggle to keep her eyes on him; and with every step, her stomach tightened itself into knots. He nearly got away from her on three separate occasions.

Alinora couldn’t say she noticed when, exactly, he caught on—she wasn’t experienced with reading dwarven faces or body language, and regardless, he was likely well trained in the art of deception. She did notice, however, when they started heading into areas where the crowds were thinner. Less people striding through the streets allowed her to let go of some of the tension in her muscles.

She almost laughed at herself—here she was relaxing when the dwarf was likely planning her demise! But she couldn’t help it. Being stuck in the center of so many bodies was making her stomach curl. She’d thrown up three times on her first day, ducking into corners to void her stomach. She’d left early that day. Since then, she couldn’t say she had grown used to it, but she was better about suppressing the urge to vomit.

He ducked into an alley; Alinora right behind him. Just before she blocked the sun, there was a flash of light in his hands. It was so quick that she almost missed it.

He’d already drawn a weapon then.

She adopted a relaxed stance. Despite appearances, she knew she would be able to throw herself to the side lightning quick, drawing her blades before he had the chance to attack again.

Dwarves—even dwarven assassins—were slower than elves—even half elves. It was something Redd had drilled into her head when he was teaching her self-defense, by request of her mother. Alinora had always wondered if she knew the truth about his identity. She assumed that her mother _had_ to know; why else would she ask him to train her?

“Now—what is a pretty lass like you doing following me around?” he asked, turning to face her.

Alinora smiled. “You seem like a gentleman with a good grasp on the layout of the area, and I happen to be looking for a certain location.”

“You could ask any shopkeeper around the area for that kind of information. I suggest you think of a better reason. Perhaps the truth?”

“But that _is_ the truth, sir. I seek a very specific place. No shopkeeper could tell me where it is—and I wouldn’t even attempt to ask. Its location is a secret; known only to members of the guild it belongs to. It’s a training hall, see. A _local_ training hall. For those of a… very specific lifestyle.”

His jaw tightened. “Ain’t no training hall ‘round these parts. Dunno where you heard that information from, but you best be moving on.” ‘If you know what’s good for you’ was implied loud and clear at the end of that sentence. His eyes were flashing dangerously.

Good. It was as well guarded as she expected. It was good to hear that they didn’t treat the lives of their apprentices carelessly. “Really?” she made herself sound disappointed. “Such a shame. Guess my friend was wrong, then.”

“Who’s this friend of yours?”

“Called himself Redd, usually,” Alinora said. “But I think you’d know him by a different name. Crim, I think.”

“Crim— Describe him to me.” This was a demand—no polite facade masked those words.

“Human. Tall, broad shouldered, muscular. Bushy red facial hair—mustache, beard, sideburns. Occasionally he misses a touch-up and showcases brown roots. Usually kept a little braid in his beard, secured by a golden band. Ruddy tanned skin. Likes to wear a red cloak.”

“By Death’s oldest… I can’t believe it. You knew that old bastard?”

Alinora laughed. “He was a member of the local Hunters and Huntresses guild. He trained me. I discovered this,” she held up the black swan, “when I was thirteen. Four years later, he gifted it to me, along with a list of cities. Told me if I was ever in trouble, to head to one of those places and flash the swan.”

“And are you in trouble, lass?” His posture was far more relaxed, now.

“Aye. But not the kind of trouble he was imagining when he gifted me this, I’m sure. A good night’s rest and a meal or two won’t fix this—nor could a healer. I need training. He used to tell me stories of Verdani’s training hall. How people would come in and challenge one of the members of the guild. If they beat them, they got in—no questions asked. So.”

“You’re here to challenge one of us.”

“Aye. I’m afraid he never quite detailed how one went about doing that, though.”

“Well—following one around for two hours seems to work pretty well for you, lass. You do realize that Verdani hosts the boys’ hall, yes?”

“And is this an official rule? Is it written down somewhere that only boys can attend the Verdani hall?”

He thought for a moment. “…no, I can’t say that it is.”

“Hm. Then I think I’ll take my chances.”

“As you wish. No weapons. I won’t kill you just because you made a stupid decision—this time. We fight until first blood, or someone calls mercy. Understand?”

Alinora readied her fists. “Understood.”

“Excellent.”

He moved.

He was faster than she had anticipated… but not fast enough.

She darted out of his way and lashed her foot out. Her foot connected with the back of his leg and brought him onto one knee.

He allowed himself to fall and used his momentum to crash to the ground, rolling away and jumping back to his feet. He charged at her again, shoulder forward.

She stepped out of his way once more and grabbed at his hair, attempting to pull him backwards.

He whirled around at the touch to his hair and lashed out. His elbow connected with her stomach and she doubled over, the breath knocked out of her.

She kept her grip in his hair though, yanking backward before he could ram his elbow into her nose.

Off balance from turning around, he crashed backward and onto his ass.

She drew in a sharp breath and lashed her hand out at his nose; he grabbed her wrist and flipped her over his head.

She twisted from his grip and jumped to her feet; pulling her arms into a defensive position.

_“Dwarves are fast—despite their stature. Most people who fight one working in light armor go down quick; they don’t realize how fast they can move. You’re faster than anything I’ve faced, so you shouldn’t have a problem with their speed. But their reflexes are uncanny. Get near one, they react quick. You’re always channeling that speed into your legs, but if you want to fight a dwarf, you better start pushing it into your arms as well. Now—”_

Alinora grit her teeth. She rolled her shoulders and felt a rush of heat fill her arms.

She narrowly dodged another charge; this time, she channeled that speed through her arms.

Her fist connected squarely to the center of his back.

He tipped forward onto his stomach and she leapt onto him; straddling his waist.

“Give up, or do I need to turn you over and break your nose?” Her voice was breathy but there was a clear threat in it. Those were no empty words; she meant it.

He lifted his head. “I give, lass.”

She pushed to her feet and offered him a hand up. He took it.

“You fight well, lass. Should have expected nothing less from someone trained by Crim himself.” He shook his head. “Come on then—I’ll show you the way to the hall.”

He lifted his pack as Alinora did the same. She almost felt as if it had been too easy; adrenaline sang through her veins. She wanted to get back to grappling through the alley. But she took a deep breath to calm herself—she would get to do plenty of sparring at the hall. And even if she didn’t, she wasn’t here to wrestle. She was here to _learn_.

Fighting—more than she could ever want—would come later.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was cut from the last due to length, so there's no journal entry :)

When the city limits were far behind them and there was little sight of greenery to be found, Ellis—as he had introduced himself while they finished his errands—peered at her from the corners of his eyes. “So, I thought I’d give you a heads up before we reached Desert’s Edge. The rules have changed since Crim was around.”

Great. Just—great.

“Challenging one of our members to a fight and winning—or at least showing promise enough that they decide you’re worth it—isn’t enough to get in anymore.”

Alinora sighed. “Of course it isn’t,” she muttered to herself. Nothing would be that easy. “What else do I have to do?”

“Get a sponsor.”

“Is that your way of saying that you won’t sponsor me?” She raised an eyebrow.

He snorted. “I don’t sponsor trainees.”

“Not even the ones who kick your ass?”

Another snort. “Never had that happen before.”

“Mm. I’d imagine not. No one’d challenge you. They’d see an easy target.”

He glared at her. “If this is your roundabout way of asking me to sponsor you, that’s not the way to do it.”

Alinora cocked her head to the side. “Are you one of those grouchy types who doesn’t like compliments?”

“Compli— How in hell was _that_ a compliment? Did that scuffle knock a few bricks loose, or are you always like this?”

Alinora frowned. “No one would look at me and see a threat either,” she said. “Thanks to my elven heritage, I’m not done growing yet. I don’t eat much, so I’m small. My eyes are a little too large for my face. My ears nearly dwarf my head. I’m all pointy ends. I don’t… I don’t radiate power like other elves do. I slouch when I walk.” She listed one thing after another, ticking them off on her fingers. “I’m _not a threat_. Or so they think. Then I kick their asses. People look at you _and they don’t see a threat_. It makes you _good_. You can walk through the streets and people will assume the merchants are intimidated because of the merchant’s guild—because you have contacts. Because you can swing a heavy axe. Not because you’re fast and quick witted and sharp.”

Ellis was quiet for a few beats. Then, “Hm.”

Alinora waited.

“That’s… not a bad point, really. Don’t find many people who catch onto that.”

“I’d imagine not. Dwarves are entirely too stereotyped.”

He snorted. “Aye. If I had my flask, I’d drink to that.”

“Of course… some of those stereotypes are true.”

“Oi! I’m not drunk of my arse now, am I?”

“Yet.”

Ellis glowered at her.

She smiled sweetly.

He harrumphed through his nose and faced forward again. “You’re a pain in the arse, you know that?”

“It’s been said.”

 

About ten minutes of walking later, Alinora brought up their previous conversation. “You mentioned that there was more I needed to do before I could get in. Other than a sponsor, what do I need to do?”

“Once you have someone sponsoring you, you inform the headmaster. The headmaster will then contact the other teachers and set up a… challenge to test your various skills. Get a high enough score—and or impress enough people—and you’re accepted in. Otherwise…” Ellis shrugged. “They mainly look at stuff like combat prowess and stealth. Nothing too difficult.”

Alinora nodded. “I see.”

“Finding a sponsor will be the difficult part,” he warned. “Written down in the rules or not, this has been a boys’ school for several years now—at least a decade. There’s a good chance you’ll have to cross the desert after all.”

Alinora cracked a half-smile, despite her unease at the thought. “Are you that certain I can pass the test?”

Ellis grunted. “Don’t go twisting my words into something they’re not.”

For Alinora, that was as good as an admission.

 

“So… I don’t believe that you gave me your name.”

“I suppose I didn’t.”

“I’m going to need that, you know.”

“Of course.” She inclined her head. “My name is Jezebel Eramyn.”

Ellis eyed her suspiciously, as if he didn’t believe that was her real name. He wasn’t wrong—Eramyn was completely fake and Jezebel was her middle name, not her first.

“Well then, Eramyn. I hope you’re ready, because we’re almost there. Be warned—Master Vernus is probably going to pitch a fit when he finds out anyone is even _considering_ letting you in.” He cocked his head to the side. “Of course, he pitches a fit over everything, so it doesn’t matter much—but best you be prepared. He’s a bit of a drama queen.”

Alinora snorted. “Sounds pleasant.”

Ellis rolled his eyes. “Very.”

 

As Ellis had said, it didn’t take much longer before the school was in sight. Nestled behind a rock formation, it was an elegant building. Smooth, off-white walls made up the exterior, topped with a red tied roof. Windows broke apart the walls; curved on top and straight on the bottom. The building was surrounded by a grey wall with a red tile top. This formed a courtyard in the front.

In the center of the courtyard was a fountain—which Ellis explained was pulled from the hot springs located beneath the rock formation. (The baths were housed within the spring itself.) Either side of the wall was lined with stables. Beyond that, the courtyard was mostly sand creeping through off-white cobblestones.

The inside of the school was far grander.

The front door opened directly into a hallway. A red carpet lined with golden thread spilled across the center. Dark wood peeked out at the sides—she couldn’t imagine what that must have cost to import. The walls were lined with portraits and news articles; plaques with names painstakingly carved into them. Black swan tapestries (and carvings, and paintings) were everywhere. It was—

Well. It was an excellent display of wealth and power, even if the only people who would ever see it were the assassins themselves.

The hallway was, of course, lined with doors. There was also a hallway that extended horizontally from the entrance—she could just see a stairwell at the end of the right side of the hall.

“This way.” Ellis walked off at a brisk pace. “I need to report in to the headmaster with the supplies… and we’ll need to see if the headmaster will consider sponsoring you before you bother talking to the teachers. It will also be easier just to summon them to his office and get it over with.”

Alinora wasn’t sure how she felt about that plan, but she followed him anyway.

 

The headmaster was… not as intimidating as Alinora had expected. Of course, the entire building wasn’t what she had expected.

He had deep brown skin and large brown eyes. His hair was carefully styled into hundreds of small braids, each one tipped with three clay beads. Spectacles rested on the tip of his nose. A golden earring glinted in his right ear. He wore dark red and bright gold robes.

When Ellis walked in, Alinora in tow, he peered over the stack of papers clutched in his hand and raised one eyebrow. “Ellis. Returned from your errands so soon?”

“What can I say, boss? I’m efficient.”

“So it seems. You even picked up an item not included on the list.” He observed Alinora carefully. “Can I ask why it is you have an elven shadow?”

“She’s an apprentice of Crim’s. Show him the swan.” He jerked his head toward the desk.

Alinora stepped forward, withdrawing the swan figurine from her pocket. With some reluctance she passed it to the headmaster.

He inspected it carefully before handing it back. “Yes… He did say something about heading up north. I wouldn’t have thought he would have settled in Mynera, but… It does make a certain degree of sense.” He turned his gaze towards Alinora. “You are aware that this is a boys’ school, yes?”

“When I spoke with Redd—er, Crim—he seemed to think that it hadn’t always been that way.”

“He… isn’t wrong, no.”

“He also said that there was no ‘official rule’ that said this was for boys’ only. It isn’t even in the name,” Alinora pressed.

“That is also true.”

“I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t be allowed to attend.”

“You’re certain you wouldn’t be more _comfortable_ attending the Hidden Oasis school? Last I heard, their school was made entirely up of girls.”

Alinora shook her head. “I… No thank you, sir.”

She wasn’t sure she wouldn’t see Liera around every corner—it was hard enough not seeing the faces of people she had known and love in random passerby. She hadn’t been close to any boys her age. It would be far less painful to attend Desert’s Edge. “First of all—I’ve no wish to traverse the desert. And second of all… I’d like to stay in Verdani. Redd and I were separated during an attack. If he comes looking for me, I’d like for him to be able to find me as quickly as possible. Besides. He told me that if I ever needed to, I would find help at Desert’s Edge.”

“Such manipulations are more inclined to get you in trouble than earn you favor around here,” the headmaster said shrewdly.

Alinora cocked her head to the side. “Manipulation? Of course not, sir. I was simply repeating what he had said.”

“Hmm.” He let it go. “If one of our staff will sponsor you… then I suppose you may take the entrance exam.”

Alinora tried not to let the relief show on her face. “Thank you, sir.”

He turned to speak to Ellis—then paused. “I don’t believe I asked your name.”

“You did not.”

He raised an eyebrow.

She blinked at him.

He pursed his lips. “What is your name, girl?”

“Jezebel Eramyn.”

His lips tightened for a moment, but he said nothing. It would seem he wasn’t fooled by her alias either. But he didn’t press. She was grateful.

“Drop the supplies off in the kitchens and have one of the servants fetch the teachers.”

“Of course, headmaster.” Ellis inclined his head, then left.

Alinora, hands folded primly in her lap, clenched the fabric of her trousers until her knuckles turned white. Something about being in the headmaster’s presence made her uneasy. Ellis’s presence had made it easier to tolerate, but… without him here as a buffer… She couldn’t help but be nervous.

_You’re overreacting. You’ve nothing to fear here._

She could tell herself that all day long. It wouldn’t help.

 

Silence reigned over the office for the entirety of Ellis’s absence. The headmaster had returned to his paperwork while Alinora stood rigidly by the door. When Ellis returned, teachers in tow, she nearly collapsed to her knees in relief.

There were three teachers. The first who entered wore deep violet robes. He looked to belong to the Serai—the desert elves—with dark brown skin and monolid eyes. His long hair was pulled into a ponytail. His ears, not as large or as pointed as Alinora’s (despite her half elf status), were adorned proudly with three earrings each. A star tattoo adorned his brow. If she recalled her teachings correctly, that was the symbol of the nomadic clan he belonged to.

Behind him was a human man in deep orange robes. Alinora imagined, despite his light brown tan, that naturally he was quite pale. His hair, pale blond, was cut short. He stood tall and thin.

The last wore green robes. If Alinora’s eyes were not mistaking her, he was one of the very rare half-dwarf, half humans in the world. His reddish brown hair was pulled back into a braid. His beard was trimmed close to his face.

“So, Ellis said you had a transfer student for us?” Purple said.

“Yes.” The headmaster gestured at Alinora.

Orange’s face twisted into an expression of disgust. “A girl? Are you serious, headmaster? I was under the impression this was a boys’ school.”

“As you well know, it hasn’t always been that way, Vernus.” Green surveyed her. “Though I admit… with the amount of male students we have right now, adding in a girl seems… unwise.”

“Rolfe makes an excellent point.” Purple cocked his head. “How are we to know she’s even capable?”

“She beat me in a fight,” Ellis said.

Vernus looked down his nose at the dwarf. “As if that is a true test of qualification. Any of my students could take you on.”

Ellis snorted. “Doubtful.”

“Ellis is one of the top assassins for a reason,” Rolfe said. “It’s impressive that she managed to beat him.”

“Hmph.”

The headmaster raised an eyebrow at the three teachers. “What say you? Will any of you sponsor her?”

Rolfe hesitated, but shook his head slowly. “No. I cannot see that it is a good idea.”

“I must agree with Rolfe,” Purple said.

Vernus snorted. “She doesn’t belong here, headmaster. That’s plain to see.”

Alinora clenched her hands tighter. She should have seen this coming—of _course_ they would refuse her. What had she even been thinking? All this time, wasted. She could have been halfway to the other school by now. Her jaw was tight. But, she reminded herself, on the slim chance that Redd survived, at least she left him a trail to follow. That’s… something, at least.

“I see.” He turned to Alinora. “Well young lady, I regret to inform you, but it would seem—”

“Wait.”

The headmaster’s eyes widened. He looked at Ellis. “Yes?”

“I’ll sponsor her.”

The headmaster—she really needed to learn his name; calling him that was going to get old very quickly—raised his eyebrows. “You have never taken on a sponsor before.” It was not a question.

“No.”

“Why start now?”

“And with her!” Vernus wrinkled his nose.

Ellis shrugged. “She’s got potential.”

“You realize, that as her sponsor, you will also be responsible for her training, yes?”

“Yep.”

“You’ve never had a student before.”

“Nope.”

“…you have no idea how to teach a student.”

“Can’t be that hard.”

The headmaster looked up at the ceiling, then closed his eyes. “Very well. It’s too late in the year to hold another tournament. You may teach her, and come spring, when we compete against our sister school, her continued enrollment will be based upon her skill against her opponents. Understood?”

“Understood.” Ellis and Alinora spoke in time.

“Excellent. You are all dismissed.”

The five of them left the room. Vernus didn’t bother to stay and chat—instead, he walked off down the hall looking as indignant as possible. Mr. Purple Robes also left, though he didn’t look like he was walking as much as he appeared to be gliding. But Rolfe stayed.

“Are you sure about this, Ellis?”

“She came here on Crim’s word.”

“…did she? Why did the headmaster not mention this?”

Ellis shrugged. “He was a mystery to me back during our academy days. I’m no closer to figuring him out than I was then, and frankly—I’ve given up trying. But she came here because of Crim—hell, he probably trained her. Now that he’s retired… I don’t see any way to pay him back what I owed him. So…”

“You’re taking on his apprentice.”

“Yeah.”

Rolfe sighed. “You’ve no classroom. No materials. No—nothing.”

“Nope.”

“The training room schedule is done up. The only sparring partner she will have is you.”

“Yep.”

“You’re not even registered as a teacher.”

“Nope.”

Rolfe looked at the ceiling. “I’m going to regret this,” he muttered. “If you agree to assist me in teaching my boys, I’ll add her to my roster.”

Ellis grinned. He clapped Rolfe on the back, hard. “I thought you might say something like that. Sure the headmaster thought so too.”

“I’m sure he did.” Rolfe sighed.

“Hey, with her on your side, you might be able to get enough points to keep your budget!”

Alinora watched the two of them curiously. She had absolutely no idea what they were talking about.

“You will have to work with her on combat. I have my hands full already.”

“That’s not a problem.”

Rolfe shook his head. He looked at Alinora. “I expect you in my office shortly after sunrise. I’ll leave Ellis to give you the tour.” He turned and walked away.

Alinora turned to Ellis. “…thanks.”

Ellis waved his hand. “I ain’t doin’ it for you. I owed Crim a favor.”

“I gathered as much. Thank you anyway.”

“Whatever.”

“What was all that about?”

“Rolfe… he takes on the problem kids. The ones the other teachers don’t wanna spend time on. Right now… He’s got a halfling who’s got more stealth skill than he knows what to do with, but he hates confrontation. He’s got an elf who spends all of his time looking like he’s a million miles away—if he would just focus on the present, he’d be deadly. He’s got a blind kid. A smart kid who can make pretty much any poison you can think of… but can’t hold his own in a fight. And a kid who lets anger and frustration rule him.”

“He wasn’t kidding about having his hands full.”

“No. He wasn’t. The thing is though… no matter how much he works with his kids, they always have low scores during the spring tournament. The headmaster bases the budget off of who gets the highest scores. Rolfe… is dangerously close to losing his budget. His training room is falling apart. His books are in terrible condition. Their practice weapons are… well. Don’t get me started. It’s bad. Really bad. If they get low scores again this year… the headmaster said he’s going to cut the funding. Permanently.” Ellis looked up at her. “That’s where you come in, girlie.”

“How am I supposed to carry their dead weight?” she demanded. “One score isn’t going to make up for five!”

He grinned. “Easy. _You’re_ going to help train them.”

“…what.”

He waved his hand. “Ah, we’ll talk about it later. You should meet ‘em and see how they operate first. For now, you need to know the layout of the school.”

“Right.”

“Plus, I bet you left some stuff behind in Verdani, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“So we’ll need to get that. You’ll need a uniform and training clothes. And we’ll need to get you the books so you can catch up to the class’s current level.”

Alinora nodded.

“But—tour first. This way.” He beckoned her forward, and Alinora followed.

This… was going to be interesting.


	3. Chapter 3

_It wasn’t long before the skill gap between my classmates and I became apparent. Though, truthfully, it was less of a gap and more of a canyon. I was smug about it—of course. I enjoyed their looks of irritation—the grit teeth and the narrowed eyes. It felt so good to shove all of the hateful comments they had made about me back in their faces—felt good to rise from under the scrutiny the rest of the school judged me with._

_It also felt good to know I wouldn’t be making any friends here; that there would be no new people to care about and then lose._

_...I’m getting ahead of myself._

_When Ellis finished his tour, he walked back with me to Verdani to get Ezzi and the few supplies that I had. While we were there, we bought some training clothes more suitable for one my size and shape. Three red breast bands and three pairs of white, wide-legged pants cinched at waist and ankle—as was the fashion of the desert, and the best thing for moving freely. We bought hand and foot wraps; and cloth to cover my face with._

_As we shopped, he told me more of the boys I would be training with. Though “more” implies he gave me a lot of detail, which couldn’t be further from the truth. He gave me a short summary of the features of each one, and then told me that my first assignment was to learn to read people. I would study my classmates habits, fighting styles, mannerisms, and report back to him with my findings. Together, we would work out a way to improve upon the boys weaknesses._

_This would all take place in the cooldown after our spar. Which we would do outside, in the sand. “Experience on rough terrain,” Ellis called it._

_When we returned to the school, it was well after dark. Ellis picked up some uniforms—which one of the servants would fit to me properly that weekend—and then led me to an empty dorm. It was in the teacher’s hall, as the boys were all communal and it would be far too large a space for one person to occupy._

_He left me to my own devices, and a part of me resented him for it._

_You see, he went to ask Rolfe to compile the schoolwork that I had missed, so that I could catch up to the others over the course of the next few weeks, but instead of bringing it to my room, he would have me pick it up the next day. It would have been nice to have something to do, instead of stewing in my own thoughts._

_Thankfully, however, the next day held plenty of excitement…_

 

“Our new classmate is a _girl_?!”

“I thought this was a boys’ school?!”

“Sir, please tell me you’re joking.”

“I ain’t gonna fight no girl!”

—these were just a few of the outraged cries her classmates flung at her.

Rolfe had asked them to gather in the common room before breakfast. It had been easy enough to find, located at the foot of the stairs that led up to the dorms.

Her classmates were  _not_ impressed with her. Alinora couldn't say that  _they_ impressed her either.

The first was a… strange looking dwarf. He was pale skinned; with white-blonde hair and sightless blue eyes.

At his side was a halfling, with bright eyes and ruddy skin. His brown hair was wild and messy, and he wore no shoes; his feet covered in thick patches of fur instead. He seemed to almost vibrate with energy, despite the earliness of the day.

A thin boy with dark skin and glasses sliding down his nose stood just behind them. He looked like this was the last place he wanted to be; radiating nervousness.

Next to him was an elven boy—volai, by the looks of it. He was the only one who hadn’t spoken. His face was slack; a dreamy, vacant expression in his eyes. Lost far, far away from here.

The last was another dark-skinned human. He headed the pack; muscular arms crossed over his chest and a brutish look on his face.

They were exactly as Ellis had described.

“Kato, you fight girls every year at the competition,” Rolfe said, swiping a hand down his face.

How long had these boys been here? They couldn’t be that much older than her.

“This is usually a boys’ school, yes. But it isn’t a true rule… it’s more like a guideline. When I attended Desert’s Edge, the school was for all genders—not just males. Your new classmate is a girl, approved by the headmaster himself, and no—I am not joking.”

Save for the dwarf and the elf, the boys shared resigned glances.

Rolfe nodded to her. “Introduce yourself, please.”

“Jezebel Eramyn.” Alinora inclined her head—it was a sharp, jerky movement; ruined by the steel in her eyes. But she had offered it, regardless.

He turned an expectant look to the class.

“Kato Nebarrok.” The muscled boy with the brutish look spoke up first.

“Sudi Kurin.” The dark-skinned boy with the glasses.

“Oswick Nillheim,” said the dwarf.

“Flynn Mistgrove.” The halfling gave the elf a sharp elbow to the gut.

“Ooph!” The boy bent double and clutched his stomach. The vacancy cleared from his eyes. He was alert... likely an odd scenario for him. “Elandor Olara.” Once he had said his name, his eyes glazed over again and he went back to staring in the distance.

Rolfe sighed; Alinora almost didn't hear it. “Come on. We shouldn’t be late for breakfast.”

Alinora trailed behind the group of boys. It was breakfast, so the dining hall was not nearly as rowdy as she might have expected. The boys within ranged from age fourteen to their early twenties, and they came from many walks of life. Alinora was sure she spotted at least one from every Eldoran race—save for the Elenai and the Slaeyrs—among them.

Boys shoveled breakfast into their mouths; cleaning plates and piling on for seconds, and even thirds. They talked amongst each other; occasionally pushing and shoving, or laughing rowdily at some joke that was told. Alinora could only imagine what it was like here at dinner.

Alinora stepped into the dining hall.

Everything didn’t stop immediately. It began with a narrow-eyed human elbowing his gnomish neighbor hard enough to make him choke; earning the attention of his table-members. He jabbed his thumb at Alinora, and then it was like a chain reaction had been set off.

Conversation paused. Forks hung limply in fingers; bits of food dripping off them as their owners turned in their seats. A hundred pairs of eyes followed her as she joined her classmates at their end of one of the long tables.

The eyes bored into her skin. Alinora ignored them. She kept her face blank; focusing only on her food, even as her skin prickled under their stares.

Breakfast was simple. Flat cakes with sugary syrup. Thick cuts of ham. Desert peaches cut into slices. Water and peach juice filled large pitchers, which servants replaced as they emptied.

Alinora poured herself a glass of juice and filled a bowl with peach slices, ignoring everything else. She ate carefully; cutting off bite sized portions of peach and chewing steadily; swallowing mechanically.

As she ate, conversation began to hiss around her. Hundreds of whispers filled the room. Her fingers tightened around her fork; nails digging into the meat of her palms. She couldn’t make out any of the words—she didn’t _want_ to make out any of the words. Still; the glances tossed her way were enough to tell her what, or rather who, they were discussing.

Her shoulders were rigid. She kept her eyes focused ahead; at the banners thrown from the rafters.  The banners depicted the black silhouette of a swan, against a striking red background; framed by gold. It was striking.

Why had she not asked if she could leave early?

Her suffering ended soon enough. The headmaster stood and tapped his fork against his cup. "Breakfast is now adjourned. Your teachers will be along within a few moments."

Group-by-group, the boys stood. They left their plates for servants to collect, wandering out of the mess and towards their classrooms. Rolfe’s class was the last to leave, and so Alinora endured the curious glances the other boys shot her way. The younger ones shared mocking grins and snickers. The older boys were more reserved, but even they muttered to themselves, sending her glances. They seemed to size her up and deem her unworthy, before striding out cockily. Alinora’s fists clenched.

Fighting would be hell later, she knew—not even stretching could fully remove the tension from her aching body.

She stood stiffly, and took the rear of the line as they made their way to Rolfe’s classroom. Each boy took his respective seat… leaving Alinora to sit in the very middle of the room. She ground her teeth as she took her place; sitting with her back straight and her hands folded in her lap. She faced forward; keeping her eyes fixed on the horizon. All around her, she could feel their stares—their judgement—their thoughts. She hated it.

_It will be worth it. When Kai’os is dead, and your kingdom is secure, you will scarcely remember this day._

She was sure she didn’t wait long before Rolfe arrived… but it felt like an eternity had passed before he entered. The sound of the door shutting behind seemed final—no turning back now. This was it.

She wanted to roll her eyes at herself. Could she get anymore dramatic? You’d think she was lining up for the chopping block.

Rolfe walked to the room and stood in front of his desk; the beads tipping the braids on his head clacking as he moved. “I realize that this must be odd, but I ask that you do your best to pay attention today. We cannot afford to fall behind anymore. If we do not show any improvement this year, the headmaster will cut our budget—and if we suffer another budget cut…” Rolfe shook his head. “We will all have to find a position at another school.”

“That’s bullshit!” Kato burst. “We paid for our five years, and we should get ‘em! That old fogey has no right to cut us out of the budget just because Vernus is being a dick!”

“ _Master_ Vernus, Kato,” Rolfe corrected dryly. “Headmaster Tremyn holds responsibility for the welfare of Desert’s Edge and it’s students. If he decides our class is a drain on his resources, he is well within his rights to cut our funding. It isn’t fair, but life rarely is. Especially for assassins. We must prove to him that this class is a valuable resource for him.”

“Yeah, that’s gonna happen,” Kato muttered, slumping into his seat.

“If passing is so important, why’d we take on a new student?” Oswick asked, face wrinkled in disgust. “Isn’t that just gonna drag us down more? She’s starting in the middle of everything!”

“And on top of that, she’s a _girl_. Won’t she get disqualified from the competition? It’s supposed to be boys against girls, right? What if they say she has to fight for their side?” Flynn wrinkled his nose.

“Heh, maybe that’ll be an advantage for us. Maybe she’ll suck so much she’ll bring their score down.” Kato smirked.

“But what if he waits to say she has to fight on their side until after we get the score? What if, when we get back the results, and it turns out she played bad, they say—yeah, she's fighting for you guys! You lost the budget. Congratulations!" Flynn tossed his hands up in the air, red in the face. He didn’t even take a breath. Alinora wondered if she had been wrong about his race. Maybe he was actually a gnome. It wasn't as if she had met a member of either race, after all.

“ _Excuse_  me?” Alinora said, glaring at him. “ _When_  I fail? I’ll have you know I could take on any of you—hell, the whole lot of you, and come out on top.”

“It ain’t even nine o’clock yet and you’ve walked around like you got some big chip on your shoulder—glarin’ at everyone and lookin’ three steps away from biting someone. You’re scrawny, you’re short. We’re the ass end of the totem pole so yeah, you might be able to beat us—but that don’t mean shit. You ain’t proved nothin’ to nobody.”

“I got in, didn’t I?” Alinora raised an eyebrow.

He snorted. “Please. You prob'ly bought your way in like we all did.”

Alinora rolled her eyes and turned back to Rolfe. “I came here to learn, sir, not argue with a bunch of boys. Ellis said there were materials that I needed so I could catch up with the rest of the class?”

Kato glared at the side of her head. She ignored him.

“Yes. I gathered them for you yesterday.” He picked up a stack of books from the corner of his desk. “On top is a list of all required assignments. Should you need extra help, there is a library near the dining hall. Someone could assist you there—and, of course, I am available for a few hours each day. Weekends would be best, however." As an afterthought, he added, “Ellis, too, has plenty of free time. He should be able to assist you.”

Alinora nodded—she would have plenty of time to get her work done. She didn’t intend to socialize and her sleeping habits were…sparse, to say the least. “Of course, sir. I’ll have it completed as soon as possible.”

He nodded. “Alright, then. Today's lessons begin with a study in toxins and how they affect the body. Avoiding a poison a healer could discover is imperative. It is often the difference between getting caught and staying free." Master Rolfe walked around the desk and sat in his chair. Today, he wore long black and gold robes. “If you would kindly turn to page eighty-nine in your herbology books…”

 

Alinora was surprised at how interested she was in Rolfe’s lessons. She wasn’t used to this “diligent student” business, but Rolfe made it easy. It was far more taxing on her mind than she had expected, though. She was just as relieved as the boys were when it came time to stretch their muscles. The chance to get her blood flowing again was a welcome one.

…even if all her opponents would be lackluster.

Ellis had mentioned yesterday that he would wait until the end of the school day to train her, and that she would work as a sparring partner for the odd boy out. Alinora surveyed her classmates, and wondered which one it would be. Whose weaknesses would she be picking apart today?

“Today was simply going to be focused on sparring drills—as we have done the past few months—but Miss Eramyn made a proposition I find… interesting. She claims to be able to take on all five of you at once. Shall we test that theory?”

If this were any other class, Alinora probably would have been more upset. Way to throw her to the wolves. But she had a feeling this would be easy.

_“Alinora, the worst thing you can be going into a fight is overconfident. Overconfidence leads to underestimation—and in a real fight, underestimating your opponent could lead to your death. No matter how weak or easy your opponent seems, you must never fail to give them the same consideration you would to someone three times your size. Do I make myself clear?”_

A muscle in her jaw jumped. She needed to focus—to observe them carefully. She couldn’t let Ellis’s estimation of the class be the only thing she based her judgments on.

The boys glanced between each other, before grinning.

“Yeah, boss,” said Kato. “I think that would be _fun_.”

Rolfe set them up similarly to their seating arrangements—the boys on all sides, and Alinora in the middle. It wasn’t a set-up she particularly _liked_ , but she would deal. This was one of the many ways it could turn out if she was ever facing multiple opponents in real life, after all.

Elandor blurred. One minute he was on the other side of the room; the next he was right in her face; their noses only inches apart. She could feel his breath. Alinora froze. It was only a split second, but it felt like an eternity. When she realized he wasn’t going to move, she shoved him out of the way. He fell, with no resistance, on the mat; and Alinora barely resisted the urge to shudder.

Sudi darted forward. Like Elan, he was quicker than she expected, and she braced herself for the blow of his fist. But he hesitated. It was barely half a second, but it gave her the advantage she needed. She grabbed his wrist, jerked him forward, and brought her knee up into his gut.

Like Elan, he was quicker than she expected, but her blood was still pumping from Elan’s unexpected assault. She side-stepped him, and stuck her foot out. His arms wind-milled at his sides as he fought to right himself, but she reached out and shoved his back, causing him to plummet, face first, into the mats.

Flynn darted over next. Alinora twisted out of the way, but didn’t have time to do anything as Oswick came barreling up. He brought his fist up to swing at her, but she rolled and he missed. She kicked him in the back, sending him into Flynn and knocking them both crashing to the mat; a tangle of limbs on the floor.

Alinora turned. Kato hadn’t moved from his starting place. He stood, watching her with a keen look—one she wouldn’t have expected to see. She narrowed her eyes. _He_ would be the one to watch out for.

As their eyes locked, he barreled forward and swung his fist in a wide arc. She grabbed it, keeping the blow from landing.

She swung her foot at his ankles but he had already lifted one of his feet to kick her in the knee. His blow landed first.

She went plummeting. She didn’t let go of his wrist; bringing him down with. She twisted them in mid air.

Her side hit the mat, but she was already moving; rolling; straddling his hips. The world was hazy as she swung her fist. It connected with his nose—not hard enough to break it; though she barely remembered to hold back in time.

Blood gushed. It seeped between her fingers; hot, thick, sticky. She jumped to her feet, sinking into the ready position.

Her breathing was harsh; her heart pounded. The heat of her blood racing under her skin was almost unbearable. Her eyes darted, to and fro. She watched each boy, but none of them showed signs of moving.

Elan stared blankly at the ceiling; relaxed on the floor. Flynn held his fist in the air, thumb pointed down; his arm just barely visible under Oswick’s girth. Oswick didn’t seem like he was getting up any time soon. Sudi copied Flynn’s symbol—it meant “out,” she assumed.

Rolfe shook his head. He looked vaguely impressed. “Well done, Jezebel.”

At his words, Alinora slowly allowed herself to slip out of the ready position, her arms going lax at her sides. Her shoulders drooped minutely.

“Boys, did you learn anything today?”

“New girl doesn’t make idle threats,” Kato said, his hand covering his nose.

“She’s fuckin’ fast,” Oswick said.

“It _hurts_ when dwarves fall on your arm,” Flynn said.

“These mats _really_ need to be replaced,” Sudi said.

Elan said nothing.

Rolfe lifted his hand to his eyes for a moment. When he uncovered them, and looked at her, he looked old. And tired. “Jezebel, please walk Kato to the healer. No roughhousing on the way there.” This was aimed at Kato; a stern glare fixed in his direction. He looked mutinous. Great. “Flynn, do you need to go with them?”

“Nah.”

“Alright. In that case, pick yourselves up off the floor. We’re going to run those drills now. Oswick and Sudi—I want Oswick on defense. Sudi, you’re offense. Flynn and Elan—Elan on offense, Flynn is defense.”

“Come on,” Alinora said. She offered her arm out to Kato. He ignored it. He pushed to his feet; leaving a smear of blood on the mat. He lifted his hand back to his nose and glared at her. She rolled her eyes and dropped her hand to her side. “Let’s go.”

“Do you even know where the healer’s _is_?” Kato asked, voice muffled.

“Nope. But I figure I’m just here to make sure you don’t bleed out on the way there.”

“Hmph.” He glared.

She glared right back.

They stayed locked in a staring contest for several moments. Behind her, the four remaining boys followed Rolfe’s instructions; the sound of fists against flesh echoed through the room.

Eventually, Kato looked away. He turned and stomped out the door. Alinora followed leisurely behind him.

She had a feeling that she hadn’t won any popularity points today. Oh well—it didn’t matter, in the end. She’d stay here for as long as she could train, and then she was gone. She had things to do. She didn’t need friends to do them—in fact, she was pretty sure that having people she cared about would only get in the way. It was best that they continued to hate her.

She could leave without any guilt that way.


	4. Chapter 4

_Sparring with Ellis was nothing like sparring with Redd. Redd could always tell when I was distracted or upset or anxious and he would adjust his lessons accordingly. Most of the time, it was to teach me to fight despite these impairments—or how to use them to push me forward. (Channel the anxiety into seeing all the attacks your opponent can make and prevent them; use your distraction to examine your environment; etc.) He taught me how to adjust the mindset and use it to my advantage._

_Ellis… didn’t. I have no doubt he noticed, but instead of adjusting me… he fought anyway. He took advantage of my distraction, of my dark thoughts, of my anxieties in order to kick my ass six ways to next week… and then, after, he asked me what I did wrong and how I could fix it._

_Divines, and he was always so smug after he won, too. Made me want to challenge his ass to a rematch just knock that smug smile off of his stupid face. (If I was feeling vengeful that day—which, honestly, was most days back then—I would do it, too.)_

_Honestly, I don’t think I learned a lot from fighting him. Well, except how to combat dwarves wearing light armor._

_I learned more in the cool down periods afterward._

 

Alinora sagged against the wall. The sun beat down on her; bright and unrelenting in the clear sky. She had never appreciated clouds as much as when they were absent from her life. Even now she longed for one—just one—to come and block the sun for a moment.

Sweat pooled under her arms and breasts, and glimmered on exposed skin. Her head was plastered to her head. Her heart knocked heavy beats against her ribcage. Her lungs struggled with every breath; her gasps harsh and heavy in the still air. Fighting Ellis was always an exercise in endurance.

She was sore and spent; in no shape to keep fighting. She lifted her canteen to her lips and sipped. She’d learned a few days ago not to drink greedily when she felt like this, or she ended up retching into the sand.

Ellis plopped down beside her. He swallowed a few gulps from his own canteen, before dumping the rest over his head. He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

When both of them had cooled down a bit, he turned to look at her, cracking one eye open. “So, what observations do you have to report?”

Alinora straightened. “I’ve narrowed my options down to Sudi and Kato. Their weaknesses have an obvious source—and hopefully an obvious fix, too. Kato is observant. He stays on defense until he has a handle on his enemy’s weaknesses and strengths… then he targets them. His problem is that he easily grows frustrated and lets that frustration overtake him. Unfortunately… I have no idea where to begin to correct this.

“But Sudi? His form is perfect. When he’s on defense, you’re hard pressed to land a blow against him. He spots weaknesses easily and unlike Kato, he has the patience to see it through. His problem is that he hesitates before following through. I don’t know if it stems from not wanting to hurt people or a fear of imperfection… but its debilitating. And… I have an idea of how I could help him.”

“Yeah?”

“I can’t give him time to hesitate. Easier said than done, since he only hesitates on the attack. But if I can get him angry enough…”

“He’ll attack without thinking.”

“Exactly.”

“How are you going to do that, though? He doesn’t have a quick fuse temper… and he lets things go easily.” Ellis shook his head.

“I won’t let up. I’ll rain blow and after blow on him, relentless. No one likes being beaten up, day after day, without mercy. Eventually, he’ll fight back. It’ll be the only way to make me stop.”

 “That’s all theoretical, though,” Ellis pointed out. “You don’t know if it will work or not.”

Alinora shrugged and tipped more water into her mouth. She swallowed. “Can’t hurt to try.”

“It might if you succeed.”

Alinora rolled her eyes. She flicked some of the everpresent sand at him. “I want to try to escape that grapple again. I think I can do it faster. And better.”

 

“Today, we’re going to try combining offense and defense in our sparring,” Rolfe said.

“Yeah, because that worked _so_ well the last time,” Kato said, scowling.

Rolfe sent him a look. “That was six months ago, Kato. You’ve all improved in that time, and I believe that it’s time to try again. Kato, you will spar against Oswick. Flynn, you will be sparring against Elan. Sudi, you will spar with Jezebel.”

Alinora allowed herself a smirk. Sudi looked as if Rolfe had just stabbed him in the back and smiled while doing it.

The Alinora of the past might have felt some sympathy for him—but _she_ felt pride at the fear she caused him. Let them be afraid—let them all be afraid.

It probably didn’t help that the boys were already nervous. Ellis had showed up this morning and asked to sit in during the training session. From the moment they’d stepped into the training room, they’d been sending him nervous looks. Alinora wasn’t sure what his position in the school was—she hadn’t asked and no one had seen fit to tell her—but she was starting to think that he was pretty damn important. Which, she supposed, explained why he’d never sponsored a student before.

(Or did it? –She cut herself off. If allowed, she’d think herself into spirals. Whatever Ellis’s position was—it didn’t matter.)

The pairs got into position, each selecting a mat. Sudi and Alinora were—thoughtfully—allowed the one nearest the door. Sudi swallowed. Alinora sank into the ready position and Sudi, after a moment, echoed it.

“Begin.”

No sooner had the word left Rolfe’s mouth than Alinora was in motion. While she didn’t use the full breadth of her divine-given speed, she was still faster than most. Sudi barely had time to anticipate her movements.

His eyes grew wide; the whites of his eyes glaring against dark skin. Panic flooded them. He barely stepped out of the way in time, but that wasn’t enough to stop her.

She turned and lifted her leg; her foot catching him in the hip.

He stumbled to the side and she swung her fist towards his head.

His hand came up in a block, catching her fist; but his grip was loose and she shrugged out of it.

She spun again, this time aiming her knee towards his stomach. He moved—but wasn’t fast enough to dodge the blow entirely. She caught his ribs and he went down.

He wheezed, and she sank back into the ready position to see if he would stand. He did; struggling to his feet and glaring at her balefully. “M’not gonna learn anything if you don’t lighten up,” he spat. “We’re not all at your skill level!”

Alinora regarded him coolly. “Some of us could be.” She didn’t give him time to react to her statement, instead hurtling forward and aiming a blow at his face.

Sudi didn’t move, and instead—went crashing to the floor. He stared up at her, and she stared down at him.

For a moment, their gazes held. And then she turned on her heel and marched off to the changing area.

Today was not the day.

 

Jezebel was trying to kill him. Sudi was sure of it. Every day, he was assigned ot be her partner, and every day, the training session ended with him flat on the ground, bruised and aching. She darted around him in a blur—too fast to keep his eye on, too fast to anticipate. It was almost like fighting Elan, except Elan couldn’t bring himself out of his stupor long enough to do anything more than come a little too close; staring creepily into your eyes.

Other than the first day, when she had walked out after she’d bruised his cheek—it still smarted when he thought about it, even though the healers had taken care of it—she made him get right back up and start the process all over again. Round and round they went, until Rolfe whistled and called order back to the room.

Sudi didn’t know why he hadn’t just switched them yet. He rotated all of the others with varying frequency.

It was torture.

Sudi couldn’t remember ever being so sore in his _life_. Not even in the early days of training. The worst part was, he couldn’t even complain to his mother—the one person other than Rolfe who could do something about it. She would just tell him to fight back harder; to apply his lessons and show her what-for.

But Sudi wasn’t _good_ at fighting.

Jezebel was proving it time and time again.

She barely broke a sweat—if she broke one at all. Worst part was, she didn’t even seem smug about it—no matter what Kato said. Instead, she just seemed… disappointed. The same way his mother was, when he came home from school break and couldn’t even beat his father in a spar.

It shouldn’t bother him. He shouldn’t care what she thinks. She’s just a bully.

And yet…

If she was disappointed in him, she had to have expectations for him. She _had_ to think that he was capable of standing against her—she’d even said so, that first day. Yet… he wasn’t. He ended every session on the ground. He would yell at her; call her out for her terrible training methods, but after each session, she would barely say a word. But her eyes…

He was getting sick of seeing disappointment there.

He wanted to see the smug look of victory she gave Kato. He wanted to see the curl of amusement on her lips that Flynn described. He wanted to see anything but disappointment. Anything.

“C’mon, Sudi,” Kato said. “You’re fast enough. All you gotta do is move before she does and get a good blow in. Or, hell, wait until after she knocks you flat the first time. She’ll never expect a second wind.”

Sudi glared at him. “You try fighting her every day. It isn’t easy!”

“Nope,” Flynn said. “It looks like fighting Elan, with the speed. Except she actually lands hits.”

Sudi nodded. “Exactly.”

Kato waved his hand dismissively. “I said it once, I’ll say it again. You’re fast too, Sudi. I don’t know what your hang-up is, but you need to get over it. Eramyn might be a girl, but she’s a royal bitch. Lay her out.”

Sudi scowled. “And I just told you it’s not that easy.”

Kato sighed. “Fine. Get your ass kicked every day. Either you’ll see sense, or you won’t.”

What was with all these… expectations everyone had of him? Why couldn’t they see what _he_ could? He’d been assigned to this class pretty much the second he stepped into the ring during the entrance exam. He wasn’t a fighter.

Poison was his specialty. Mixing, naming, applying—he knew how to do it all. He was charming, too. Or, at least, good at being looked over. No one would suspect him of murder. _That_ was his area.

Sure, self-defense was important but Sudi didn’t plan to be getting into any hard scale fights like the ones the others were training for.

They were assasins, after all—not gladiators. (Even if the school liked to pretend they were a gladiator school, to avoid suspicion.)

Sudi sent a baleful glance at the door. She’d have to let up eventually, once she realized that what she was looking for just wasn’t there.

 

When it finally happened, Alinora hadn’t been expecting it. She knew it was coming—of _course_ she knew it was coming. No one with Sudi’s skill could take being knocked back that often. Eventually, something had to give.

But after a week with no results, Alinora was beginning to lose hope. She knew, of course, that it would happen eventually—but perhaps it would take longer than expected. Maybe he _did_ need a gentler form of encouragement.

(She might have been right about that; but right or not, it worked.)

It happened in the middle of the second week… and she wasn’t prepared.

She’d rushed him, as she always did; backing him into a metaphorical—and sometimes literal—corner. But where usually his flight response triggered, this time, he met her advance with a punch.

Between his force and her own…

She was knocked flat on her back. All of the air rushed from her lungs; her sternum throbbing where his fist had hit. She lay completely still. Her heart seemed to pause in her chest. Her mind was completely, utterly blank.

For a moment, she felt a twinge of sympathy for Sudi’s week and a half of constant falls.

Then, the world kickstarted.

She leapt back to her feet; new fury in her eyes. She rushed again, swinging her fist at his face.

He caught it and used her momentum against her; spinning her away from him.

She finished the turn; dodging before his foot could hit her back. She grabbed his ankle and yanked him forward.

He allowed himself to tip forward, using his weight against her, and knocking them both to the floor.

She shoved him off of her and jumped to her feet.

He was up seconds after she was. He swung his fist at her.

She caught it, and stepped towards him. She rammed her elbow into his gut.

He doubled over, exhaling all at once. His free hand clutched at his stomach.

She caught her foot behind his ankles and knocked him to the floor.

He lay there, one hand spread wide and the other still clutching his stomach. His chest heaved; sweat gleamed on dark skin. His breaths were harsh and ragged. He shut his eyes; trying to catch his breath.

Alinora allowed herself a small, proud smile.

“Good job, Sudi.”

 

…did he hear her right? Did _Jezebel_ just tell him he did a good job? _Jezebel Eramyn?_ His classmate? His self-appointed tormentor?

Did she really say that?

Sudi cracked his eyes open and squinted at her. “What?”

She rolled her eyes at him—but he saw the corners of a smile at her lips. “Good job, Sudi. It’s about time you got with the program.”

He scowled at her. “Oi! I already told you that not everyone is as good as you!”

Jezebel tilted her head back and _laughed_.

Sudi stared. He was sure his mouth had dropped open.

“Oh, Sudi,” she said, shaking her head. “That’s the _problem_. Some of you _are_ as good as I am. You just need a kick in the ass to realize it.”

…two compliments? In five minutes? She must have knocked him out at some point. He must be dreaming. There’s no other explanation for this.

She shook her head again. “I think that’s enough for today.” She turned away and walked towards the changing partition.

It was until she disappeared that he realized the entire training room had fallen silent. He looked over to find his classmates staring at him with something that looked like awe. Rolfe’s expression of shock might have made him laugh in another scenario. And Ellis just looked proud. And kind of smug.

“Whoa,” Flynn breathed. “That…”

“I told you you could do it,” Kato said, smug. Privately, Sudi thought he was projecting his own smug victory onto Jezebel. “Those were some top-notch moves. I knew you had it in you.”

“I can’t believe she complimented him,” Oswick said; staring sightlessly towards the sound of her footsteps.

“And she _laughed_ ,” Flynn said. “Much as she scowls, I thought maybe the ability was sucked out of her, or somethin’.”

Rolfe shook his head. He clapped his hands twice to bring them to order. “Alright, enough. There’s still ten minutes of training left. Sudi, go change and get some water. That was excellent fighting. You’ve earned a rest. The rest of you, back to your partners. Time’s not up yet.”

Sudi climbed unsteadily to his feet and walked over to the changing partitions, still in a daze.

That was awesome… but whose to say it would last? Tomorrow, he could go right back to the way things were before.

He couldn’t let that happen. It… it felt _good_ to fight back, instead of let her push him around.

It felt good to know he could defend himself. That maybe he wasn’t hopeless after all.

 

Kato was still reeling. Eramyn laughed. She gave Sudi two compliments—one of which could have been possibly directed at more than one of them. Sudi fought back, and actually managed to hold his own. Kato might have seen the ability in him—he’d had enough time to pick out his classmate’s strengths and weaknesses, except maybe Eramyn. He knew Sudi was capable of kicking ass… but… knowing and believing are two different things. He never thought Sudi would have the balls to actually _do_ it. It was bizarre.

He half-wondered if he hit his head somewhere and this was all just a dream.

But, no. His bruises hurt way too much for this to be a dream.

Classes were over for the day, and the five boys had decided to head out to the courtyard to get their studying done. It would probably end up turning into them throwing sand and seeing who could climb the furthest up the wall, but it was the thought that counted.

Of course, they were so distracted, they didn’t realize they had turned down exactly the wrong hallway. It was the faster way to the exit, sure, but it was also the hall that Cayne Harpford liked to haunt. He was Vernus’s prized pet; his best student. He enjoyed tormenting the boys whenever possible, making snide remarks about their fighting skills and their intelligence.

“Well, well. Someone looks distracted.”

Kato had the utter misfortune to bump right into him. Cayne was a tall boy with corded muscles and a square jaw. He was hard and rigid all over—not a soft spot to be found on him. A wicked glint shone in his eyes.

“Is it thanks to that little _whore_ Rolfe bought for you?”

“What?” Kato knitted his eyebrows together. Whore? What was he talking—

The pieces snapped together. _Eramyn_.

“You know, I’m not sure if she’s that good of a lay, or if you’re always this stupid.” Cayne grinned; a menacing light in his eyes.

Kato narrowed his eyes. “If you’re going to insult us, at least come up with some new material.”

“And have to wait for you to get it? Nah, I’m good.”

Kato snarled. He swung his fist.

His friends, loyal campatriots that they were, rushed Cayne’s group. None of them had any hope of winning, but—hell. At least they wouldn’t go down without a fight.

Cayne caught it with a laugh and twisted his arm.

Kato grit his teeth against the pain, and lashed out with a foot.

Cayne anticipated the move, and Kato’s foot connected with empty air.

Kato stumbled, and Cayne yanked him forward. His other hand connected with Kato’s eye; and he let go.

Kato stumbled back, hand over his eye. He snarled. He rushed forward, swinging his fist with everything in him.

Cayne laughed again, and stepped to the side. He stuck his foot out; and Kato was too gone to stop.

His arms wind-milled as he fell; looking for something, anything, to catch onto but he found nothing. He collided with the ground, and felt the air rush from his lungs.

Before he could suck in a breath, or even try to stand, Cayne’s foot connected with his side. Pain flared and Kato grit his teeth to keep from making any noise.

“You know,” he said, tone conversational, “you’d think with that lovely little _reward_ that Master Rolfe was kind enough to purchase for you, that maybe you’d have some incentive to do better. Personally, I think my friends and I could make better use of her. You lot wouldn’t know the first thing to do with a whore, do you?”

“... _what_ did you just say?”

Kato didn’t think that he had ever been so glad to Eramyn’s voice. His eyes shut and his head slumped; forehead touching the carpet. Around him, he could hear the sighs of relief from his compatriots—most of which who had been knocked in the floor with him.

Normally, that arrogant, angry tone sent his fists curling and his eyes flashing as he fought to knock her down a peg, but—today. Today, he could only summon a vengeful _yes_. Because if anyone at this damn school could take out Cayne and his posse, it would be her.

(And he hated that thought. But if that was what it took…)

He lifted his head off the ground, even as pain throbbed through his limbs. Not even a spar with Eramyn had left him this bruised—though, to be fair, he had only really had the one. He could already feel the flesh around his eye swelling. He’d have to hit the healer’s office if he didn’t want to be walking around with one hell of a black eye tomorrow.

Eramyn’s arms were crossed over his chest; her hip cocked. Her jaw was tight; he could see the muscle jumping. Her eyes were green steel. She did _not_ look impressed. It was everything he needed to see.

“You heard me,” Cayne said. He’d never known when to quit. He’d been that way since they were kids in the streets of Mharani. Of course, he’d also never met anyone his age who could hand his ass to him. “I said that Rolfe’s new tactic doesn’t seem to be working. They’re still pathetic. My group and I could get more use out of you, you know.” He stepped forward, smirking. “And I bet you’d look so damn pretty on your—”

CRACK!

He didn’t get to finish his sentence. He stumbled back, clutching his jaw in stunned shock.

Kato rolled to the side and climbed to his knees. Sudi was by his side in an instant, yanking him to his feet.

Eramyn stepped forward. Kato had never seen her move so quickly; so determinedly; so _brutally_. She landed another hit; this time on his shoulder. She jerked her foot up and got him between the legs.

Kato winced with empathy he didn’t feel, and found himself crossing his legs protectively. Thank Chaos she’d never tried that move during class.

When Cayne was doubled over, she put her hands on his shoulders and shoved, catching his ankle with her foot. He fell backwards. His breath expelled from his chest, but she still wasn’t done.

She kicked him in the ribs once. Twice. And then she put her foot on his chest and leaned down real close.

Teeth bared, she said, “Uvela Moryn. Brunna Lythe. Sera Forres. Jana Hallis. Moira Undertree. Petra Salan. Some of the greatest divines damned assassins to walk the north eastern half of Eldora. Most of them were so good at their job their real names never made the papers. They were daring. Powerful. Kickass. Their portraits all hang in this wall. They came through Desert’s Edge. Each one of them walked these halls, sat in these classrooms, trained in these grounds.

“This was _never_ just a boys school, and it’s produced some of the finest female assassins in history. You wanna keep that cock of yours? I suggest you show me the respect I damn well deserve.

“And if you lay another finger on one of my classmates, I’ll take it off.” She pushed off of him, causing him to let out a pained grunt, and spun on her heel. She strode out, head held high.

Kato trailed her heels; the others only a beat her two behind him. He caught her shoulder just as she strode out into the desert sun.

“Eramyn!”

She grabbed his wrist and whirled. Her hand was inches from his throat; in it, the sparkling glint of a blade.

He froze; breath caught.

Her eyes were clouded—he couldn’t make out the emotions. Fear? Fury? Whatever it was, it cleared quickly. She removed her hand, dropped his wrist, and put the knife away. She stepped back—three steps. “Yes?” Her voice was breathless, but still hard.

“I, uh. I wanted to say thanks.” His hand was halfway to his neck; his heart pounding in his chest.

Holy shit.

Don’t sneak up on Eramyn. Don’t grab her from behind. Just—don’t.

She shrugged. “Wasn’t a big deal.”

“Well. Still.”

“He’s an idiot. Assassins who flap their gums like that die quickly.”

“You didn’t have to threaten him for us,” Sudi said.

Eramyn snorted. “ _Someone_ had to teach him the lesson. Sure didn’t look like it was going to be anyone at this school. And, I guess, _someone_ had to save your asses.” She wrinkled her nose, like the thought was vaguely distasteful.

Kato scowled at her.

“I can’t carry the competition by _myself_ , you know. I kind of want to continue my education here. Which means I need you lot.

Kato rolled his eyes—good old Jezebel.

“You’re assuming that we’ll have the training necessary to win,” Sudi pointed out as he pushed his glasses up his nose.

She smiled sweetly. “When I’m done with you, you’ll have no problem getting high enough marks to win.” Then, she turned away from them and jogged over to the stables.

“Why did that sound like a threat?” Flynn asked.

“Probably because it is,” Oswick said.

“Ugh. Tomorrow is going to be hell…” Sudi put his face in his hands.

Kato patted his shoulder. “It’ll be okay, man. I’m _pretty_ sure she won’t kill you.”

“Comforting,” he said into his hands.


	5. Chapter 5

_Sudi improved drastically after that. I still had to push him at first, but as he started fighting back, he grew more confident—at least against me. When I felt he was ready, I had Ellis mention to Rolfe that it was time to rotate sparring partners. The look on Kato’s face when Sudi kicked his ass—it’s something I’ll never forget. Almost as good as the look on Sudi’s face when he realized he had won._

_I’m smiling even as I write it._

_After that, I was faced with the problem of Kato. Sudi’s problem was lack of confidence… but Kato didn’t need confidence… he needed patience. How do you teach patience? Is patience even something that can be learned, or is it an innate quality?_

_Never one to back away from a challenge, I threw myself into finding a way. Unfortunately, I couldn’t seem to think of a method that I could apply in the training room. With everything I had going on outside of class, I didn’t have the time outside of school to teach him—and what class could I pull him from? Perhaps the training itself… but he wouldn’t learn that way. He’d just resent me for pulling him aside._

_I needed to find something to do… and fast._

_Unfortunately, as I was considering that, Rolfe decided to drop a bomb in my lap._

 

“The tournament is only a few scant months away. As it has every year since it was first introduced, it falls during the festival of life. As part of the tournament, you will be expected to attend the festival as well as the tournament events, so please make sure you have appropriate garb to wear.” Rolfe tapped his thigh. “That is all. Any questions?”

No one had any questions—except Alinora, but she knew that Rolfe couldn’t answer hers.

What was she supposed to do? When she left with Liera to go hunting… she’d brought only two sets of leathers and two changes of clothes. She hadn’t needed much more; not with the wellspring close by to wash them—not with there only being two weeks before she would return home. She didn’t have anything of value to trade—save for a ring she refused to part with. She had no time to hunt—and even if she did, it was unlikely she would find anything that would actually get her a sizable sum of coin.

She had nothing.

Alinora tuned out the rest of the class—she could steal Sudi’s notes while he was sleeping—and leaned back in her seat, drumming her fingers on her thigh. She stared off into the distance, her gaze looking toward the blackboard but seeing anything but.

Did she have the time to get a job? When her classes with Rolfe were over, she sparred with Ellis—either in the training room or in the courtyard—and then they sat and talked. Or, rather, Alinora talked and Ellis interrogated. Then, after that, she had homework to do, which took at least two hours (Rolfe was relentless about homework). She spent a good portion of the night that she didn’t spend trancing doing old schoolwork—she’d progressed through a good chunk, though she handed them in intermittently, lest Rolfe grow suspicious.

She sucked her lip between her teeth. Well, it wasn’t like she slept. She averaged about two hours every other night, and tranced for four hours. She had been increasingly bored lately. If she got a job, she’d have something to fill her weekends, and she could just do her current homework along with her old homework.

The only problem would be dealing with people—and having to put on a smile. But Alinora could do that.

 _Whatever it takes_ , she reminded herself.

Now, to find a place that was hiring—and that wouldn’t require magic.

 

Eramyn was acting _weird_ lately. Weirder than normal, even. She was always in her worst moods just before and after training—for whatever reason. They usually avoided her as much as possible. But recently, they didn’t have to try very hard. She’d finish her training for the day, and then she would leave. She was never around on free days anymore—you could usually find her in the library, the training room, or her bedroom—and she had missed dinner _three_ times this week. Three. Sometimes she would stay a little longer for training, to help whoever Rolfe had assigned her to that day (in her usual convoluted forms). But eventually, she would disappear to the changing room and then she would just be gone.

They had looked all over the training hall—casually, of _course_ , it wasn’t like they were really _concerned_ or anything, just curious—but hadn’t found a trace of her.

And then they had noticed that her stupid deer-thing was missing.

Which was why Kato had decided that they would spend today’s free day figuring out where she was going. Again—he wasn’t concerned. He was curious. And a little suspicious. What if she was spilling Black Swan secrets to other guilds? Or to the guards! Maybe she had been a spy this whole time. It would sure explain the hell out of her training methods. Bitch.

They needed to find out. If they uncovered her plot…maybe the headmaster would forget about that whole “getting better marks” thing and reward them with more funding because the uncovered a traitor! Well, probably not, he was a stubborn old bastard, but maybe he’d be more lenient.

It was with these thoughts in mind that Kato led his troupe down the sweltering streets of Verdani. They were a lot less enthusiastic than he was.

Sudi looked uncomfortable; hands in his pockets and darting his eyes this way and that.  He didn’t want to spy on her. Dumbass had taken a liking to her. Kind of idolized her, actually. Bit of a turnaround from how he’d felt about her before. Guess he must have hit his head a little too hard when they were training—or maybe it has something to do with that stunt with Harpford.

Oswick had a tight grip on the back of Sudi’s shirt. He hated moving through Verdani—he’d mostly gotten the layout down, but the crowds gave him trouble.

Flynn had his hands in his pockets; casually strolling through the streets. They’d probably lose him before they managed to track Jezebel, then find him again when it was time to go home. He’d know everything that happened.

Smug halfling bastard.

Elan had a blissed out look on his face—he _loved_ coming to Verdani. Kato ddn’t know why; it wasn’t like he actually took _notice_ of anything, but hey. If it kept him from throwing one of his tantrums, it was all good.

Jezebel strode ahead of them. She wore a green tunic over tight brown trousers; a pair of worn, sturdy boots on her feet. Her high ponytail was a swinging pendulum. Confidence laced her every step as she made her way through the winding streets of Verdani.

Kato and his crew scrambled to keep up with her—she was at _least_ half a foot shorter than he was, she should _not_ be so damn fast.

The only one who didn’t seem phased by her pace was Flynn—stupid, smug halfling.

And then, she disappeared.

Kato stopped. Sudi slammed into his back; then Oswick slammed into Sudi. Elan came to a graceful stop right beside him. And…Flynn had disappeared. Of course.

“Where’d she go?”

“I dunno, boss. I can’t see nothin’.”

“Helpful, Oz.” Was now really the time for blind jokes?

“She probably caught on to us following her and ditched us. We’re _really_ going to pay for it tomorrow.” Sudi sounded mournful.

“Then let’s make it worth something and pick up her trail! Where’s Flynn?”

“Right here!” The little bastard materialized out of nowhere. “Jez disappeared into the _Gilded Gosling_ up ahead. When I ducked in, she was putting an apron on.”

An apron? That was…weird.

“Come on, then. Let’s go see what she’s doing at the _Gosling_.”

“I dunno, Kato. It sounds pretty innocent. Maybe we should let her be…”

“Sudi. I realize that your loyalties are compromised because she taught you how to throw a punch without flinching, but this concerns the safety of the school. If she’s there to spill our secrets, we _can’t_ let it happen. Now. Put your game face on and let’s _go._ ”

“Ugh. Fine.”

Kato started towards the _Gilded Gosling_ , doing his best imitation of Eramyn’s confident stride. The group began to shuffle behind him; their movements far less enthusiastic than his own. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

The _Gosling_ was crowded. Lively music played in a corner; the minstrels standing on a short platform. Mugs and classes clinked as ale and mead sloshed within them; an icefire sent cool waves through the establishment. Boisterous laughter filled the air. A queue had formed at the bar; each person walking away with some variation of a cool treat, be it a drink or a snack.

“What do we do?” Sudi hissed in his ear.

“Be customers. I dunno about you, but I could go for some frozen syrup or cream right now. Then, while we’re buying, we ask the barkeep if he knows a Jezebel Eramyn. Give a short description. If they do…I guess we could report our suspicions to Rolfe and try again next week. But, if they do…”

“We can find her and observe her,” Sudi sighed. “Yeah, okay.”

“I’m only agreeing with this because I like favored ice. Just so you know.”

Kato rolled his eyes. “Got it, Oz.”

They stood at the back of the closest line. Kato crossed his arms across his chest.

“You think if we flash one of our swans they’ll give us a discount?” Flynn asked hopefully.

“Shh!”

“It’s fine, Sudi. Flynn—don’t talk about those in public. And no, I don’t. Maybe at the _Cordial Cygnet_.”

“Damn.”

Despite the amount of people in the line, the one they had joined diminished quickly. Each customer walked away smiling while patrons on the other line stared enviously at their dripping treats. Still—it took forever for them to get to the front.

The first thing Kato saw of their barkeep was a swishing black ponytail; a slight curl at the end. He didn’t catch anything else before she was turning to greet them; a smile pasted on her face. “Hello! What can I get for you to— Kato?!”

“…Eramyn?”

“Well, fuck.” Oswick said.

Sudi covered his face with his hands.

Elan stared off into space.

Flynn raised his hand high above his head and waved it erratically. “Hi, Jezebel!”

“What are you—” Her smile dropped for a moment as she beheld them; her customary scowl making its way onto her face. She shook her head. “Actually, I don’t have time for this. What do you want?”

“Three frozen creams—two vanilla, one chocolate—and two flavored ice—one desert peach and one oasis berry.” The order rolled off his tongue on automatic. “And, uh, to know when your break is.”

She called their order into the kitchen. “I get off at seven.”

“…that’s not what I asked.”

The look she gave him dripped of condescension. “I don’t _take_ my break, Kato.”

“Of course you don’t…” he muttered.

She rolled her eyes and turned to the man behind her. Each barkeep was paired with someone who could make the treats—usually a mage from the local college working to help pay their way through school. One-by-one, the treats were passed to them. She announced their total; the boys went digging through their coin pouches and stacked the requested amount on the counter. Eramyn gave them another cheerful smile once they had paid. It was creepy.

“Thank you and have a nice day. I’ll see you at seven!” Then she turned her attention to the group behind them.

Kato was half tempted to stay there and make her explain what the _hell_ she was doing serving treats at a local tavern… but he didn’t. Getting them kicked out of one of their favorite establishments wasn’t something he wanted on his head. “C’mon, guys. We’ll come back later.” He led them outside.

“Man,” Flynn said, kicking at the ground. A cloud of dust rose into the air. “I can’t believe she didn’t give us her discount!”

“What did you expect?” Sudi glared. “She didn’t tell us she was working here for a reason—and then we followed her here and ambushed her at work!” He turned to Kato. “ _Now_ do you believe she’s not a spy?”

“No.”

“Ugh.” Sudi dragged a hand down his face.

Kato rolled his eyes. “Eat your ice before it melts.”

“What the hell are we going to do until seven?” Oz asked.

Kato shrugged. “We’ll figure something out.”

 

When seven o’clock rolled around, Kato was bored as all hell. Finding something to do had been harder than he thought. He had forgotten what a money guzzling town this place was. Normally, they caused trouble until a guard found them and asked them to stop—but today, Kato wouldn’t risk getting kicked out of Verdani.

It didn’t help that they saw Cayne and his posse enjoying themselves at the oasis; swimming in the clear ponds. Even in winter this place was miserably hot.

They window shopped, mostly. Flynn pocketed a few small trinkets while Sudi quivered in his boots. They had a brief lunch that felt more like a snack than a meal. Elan roused himself from his stupor for an hour—a new record—and they celebrated the occurrence by splurging to play a dart game. Their efforts paid off—they won a set of tickets to a shooting game. Which they played. They won a few free rounds of it—Oz sat to the side and pouted that he didn’t get to play—and then left to eat dinner. When they finished dinner, it was six-thirty.

“Let’s go back to the _Gilded Gosling_. I’m sick of wasting time.”

“You know, I could have gotten so much reading done today. All we did was waste time! And it isn’t even going to be worth it.”

“Well, I had fun! The arrow game was the best. I’m still surprised we won as many rounds as we did. Maybe we oughta tell Rolfe we do better with moving targets? Think he’ll be pleased?”

“I didn’t even get to _play_!”

Kato sighed.

They stood there for Divines-knew-how-long before Eramyn finally exited.

She came out through the side door, which exited into an alley. A homeless women sat, huddled in the shadows. Eramyn knelt beside her, and spoke to her for a moment; they were too far away for Kato to make out the words. He was tempted to move closer, but didn’t want to incur her wrath.

Eramyn reached into a side pocket and puled out something. A stray moonbeam caught it, and it glittered. Kato tensed, hand reaching for a weapon that wasn’t there. Eramyn’s free hand reached out and grabbed the woman’s hand. She folded her fingers around it, and said something else.

Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but her face seemed uncharacteristically soft. The woman clutched at Eramyn’s hands for a moment, saying something earnestly, which Eramyn shrugged off—the same way she had shrugged off their thanks when she had saved them from Harpford’s claws.

She disentangled herself from the old woman, and strode across the street to where they were standing.

“What did you want?” She asked, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. Any trace of the way her face had softened in the alleyway was gone now.

Definitely a trick of the light.

“Did…you just give money to that woman?”

Eramyn scowled. “Does it matter?”

“Yes! Assassins don’t give money to the homeless.”

“Says who?” Her chin lifted defiantly.

Kato let out a wordless noise of frustration. “You have to be the most irritating person I’ve ever met,” he said.

“Get to the point, Kato.”

He shook his head. Getting answers from Eramyn was like pulling teeth. “I wanted to know where you’ve been disappearing to every day. I know where, now. Now I want to know _why_.”

She rolled her eyes. “Why does anyone work?” Her voice was scathing.

Kato glared.

“For money, usually,” Flynn piped up, unfazed, as always, by the roiling emotions around him.

Sometimes Kato wants to strangle the little halfling. Other times he feels like he could kiss him. He’s not feeling particularly inclined to either, at the moment.

“Mmmhmmm.” She nodded her head, a condescending look in her eyes. “So…?”

“You’re working for money!” Flynn said brightly. “Seems so obvious now.”

“Doesn’t it just?”

Kato felt like his face was going to get stuck in a permanent scowl. “What do you need money for?” he said scathingly. “Thought you were some rich noble girl or somethin’.”

“Why in hell would you think that?” Her glare rose in intensity. He half-expected to be set on fire.

“You kind of walk like a noble,” Flynn said helpfully. “Head held high, shoulders back. You glide like Rolfe does.”

“You talk like one too,” Oz contributed.

“You have impeccable manners,” Sudi said hesitantly.

“Well. I’m not.” Eramyn turned her head and glared off into the distance. Kato was privately relieved she wasn’t looking at him anymore. “I don’t have any funds. At all. Which is why I’m competing for the scholarship fund.”

“Well…what do you need the money for anyway? I mean…we’re given meals, lodging, and clothes at Desert’s Edge.”

Eramyn clenched her fists. Her jaw tightened. She looked down at her hands. Kato waited for the cold dismissal.

It didn’t come.

She sighed; and her shoulders seemed to slump. “…I don’t have anything to wear to the elemental festival,” she muttered. “Nothing suitable, anyway. Not for blending in purposes.”

“…oh.” Kato fidgeted.

“Can’t you ask your parents to send you some money?” Flynn looked at her hopefully.

She sucked in a sharp breath; then slowly let it out. “No. I can’t.”

“Why not?” Oz asked.

She swallowed. “I can’t.” Pain glittered in her eyes, and it told Kato everything he needed to know.

“But _why_?”

Kato punched him in the arm. “Lay off, Oz. She said she can’t.” He turned her. “We’ll help.”

She frowned at him; three dark lines formed between her brows. “Why?”

“You’re one of us.” Kato shrugged. “Besides, we need to get high marks at the competition. I’m pretty sure blending in at the festival is one of those stupid tests nobody tells first years about. You need to blend in. So we’ll help.”

“I won’t ask you to do that.”

“You’re not askin’. And I’m not offerin’. I’ve made up my mind. We’re helping.”

“Yeah.” Sudi pushed his glasses up his nose. “ _Cactus Juice_ is always hiring mages with ice powers. Oz and I can go there—I can work the counter while he makes treats.”

“Any food place worth their salt will hire a halfling on the spot,” Flynn said. “Hell—I’ve been asked to work at about half the places around here at least a dozen times.”

Kato shrugged. “Shouldn’t be too hard to find a job. The only one we gotta worry about is Elan.”

“I can work at _Emilia’s Emporium_.”

Kato jerked his head around—but Elan was no more alert than normal. His voice was dreamy and distant, just like his eyes.

He turned to look at Eramyn. Her head cocked to the side; eyes narrowed in Elan’s direction. She jerked her gaze away and shook her head. She looked around at all of them.

“You should use that time to practice.”

“You and Rolfe have been training us so hard that any more training will be detrimental.” Sudi waved his hand.

“What about your homework?” Eramyn crossed her arms.

“How have you been doing yours?” Kato crossed his arms and lifted his chin.

“How do you think?”

Sudi cocked his head to the side. “…the only way you’d be able to get it done is if you’re not sleeping.”

“You could get yourself hurt in training that way!”

She snorted. “I’m fine, Flynn.”

“How?!”

“It’s an elf thing.”

“If it’s an elf thing, then how come that one never wakes up?” Kato jerked his thumb at Elan.

“I believe he has some special type of magic that has just begun to manifest—perhaps some sort of psychic power.” Jezebel shrugged. “Magic isn’t really my area.”

Sudi frowned. “But…you’re an elf—er, half-elf.”

“So?”

“ _So_ , elves are one of the most magical races on Eldora! They live and breathe for magical knowledge and learning!”

“You can’t believe every stereotype you hear.”

“Some of them are true, though! Even an elf will admit it.”

Eramyn reached up to rub her temple. “I’m a weird half-elf, okay?”

“I’ve never seen anyone try to be the best as hard as you do,” Kato said. “If all of your little elven friends were training in magic, there’s no way you wouldn’t be in the thick of it, trying to outdo them in every way. If you’re going to lie, at least give us a believable excuse.”

She growled—actually growled—at him. She stuck her hand out.

Now, Kato wasn’t the best mage, but like any born on Eldora, he could feel the magic in the air around them. And he could feel it moving… but not towards her hand… _away_ from it. As she attempted to cast; the magical aura present in the very air itself fled from her grasp.

Not even a spark formed at her fingertips.

“I don’t know much about magic, because I can’t use it at all. I know the basics. How to recognize when someone is casting. I know how to recognize the basic runes. But anything else, I never learned—I focused on my skills. I’m faster than any elf I know. I have more stamina. My eyes are better. But magic flees from me.” She shook her head. “I aim to study it later in life. But right now? I know very little. You probably know more than I. I will probably do some research on it, however—I’m curious now.” She looked back at Elan, then shook her head violently. “But it’s late. We should get back. We’ve already missed dinner.”

“Oh, yeah!” Flynn reached into his bag and pulled out a box. “We figured that we wouldn’t get back in time for dinner, so we got you something.”

Eramyn reached out hesitantly. “You didn’t need to do that.”

Kato clapped her shoulder. “I told you. You’re one of us.”

Jezebel didn’t look like she knew what to do with that.

 

Sudi was late. Sudi was _never_ late. If anything, he was early. He always got there before everyone else—even Alinora, and she barely ate anything on her plate. Today, however, Alinora had been the first to class. This wasn’t completely unusual. Sometimes Sudi slept in when they had a lot of work the night before, or if the boys decided to stay up playing cards or something. (Alinora wasn’t really sure; she wasn’t privy to those details and had decided to keep it that way.) But when Flynn, Elan, Oswick, and Kato arrived with Sudi nowhere in sight…

Alinora’s stomach twisted. She scowled at herself.

The boys traded nervous looks beside her. Rolfe glided into the room with all of his usual poise and grace. When he slid into his chair and looked up to regard his students… he did a double take.

“Where’s Sudi?”

“I haven’t seen him since breakfast, sir,” Kato said. His brow was furrowed. “He ate and then he left. I thought he came to class… but…”

“Maybe he got lost?” Flynn said.

“Elan? Maybe. Sudi? Nope.” Kato shook his head.

“Maybe he went to the library and lost track of time. It wouldn’t be the first time,” Oswick said.

Rolfe considered. “I suppose it’s possible. Flynn, why don’t you—”

The door opened. Sudi stood there, holding an ice pack over his eye. He looked proud. Beside him, the elven teacher—Master Nuwyn, Alinora had learned—stood, one hand clasped on his shoulder. He didn’t look happy.

“Master Rolfe. Please ensure Mr. Kurin reports to my office at the end of the day. The practice weapons my students use are in need of some maintenance, and Mr. Kurin has kindly volunteered himself for the job.”

Rolfe raised an eyebrow. “I see. Might I ask how this came about?”

“It would seem Mr. Kurin and Mr. Wiltonshire believe that the halls are the perfect place for an early morning tussle.”

“I… see.”

“Hmph. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I should make sure my student has been properly patched up.” With an elegant flutter of robes, Mr. Nuwyn turned on his heel and made his way down the hall, nose in the air.

Sudi stepped into the classroom and shut the door behind him. “Sorry I’m late, sir,” he said chipperly. “Ran into a bit of trouble in the halls.”

“So I gathered. Would you care to explain?”

“Apparently he didn’t learn from Harpford’s mistake.” Sudi shrugged. “He called Jezebel the class whore and insinuated some other… impolite things. He didn’t want to listen to reason, so I thought I’d give him something else to talk about. I socked him in the jaw. He retaliated… but he’s the one who came off worse.” Sudi smirked.

Flynn whooped. “You go Sudi!”

Oswick grinned. “Wish I could’a been there.”

Kato grinned. “That’s right! Show ‘im what happens when you mess with one of us!”

Rolfe sighed, but Alinora could just make out the hint of a smile on his face. “I see. Well, Sudi, don’t let it happen again—we’re already on thin ice with the headmaster as it is… but… good job.”

Sudi grinned. He turned to Alinora

She frowned at him and lifted her chin. “I thought you knew better than that Sudi.” His face fell. She let the corner of her mouth twitch up, ever so slightly. “When they say the word ‘whore’ you kick ‘em in the balls. Though,” she cocked her head to the side, “socking him in the jaw was a good one, I’ll give you that. Maybe he’ll think twice before he runs his mouth next time.”

Sudi grinned.

Rolfe shook his head. “Alright, kids. Enough. Sudi, take your seat. We’ve wasted enough time talking about this. There are only so many hours in a day.”

 

Rolfe had one thing right—time was precious commodity.

Alinora pinched her lips together, tracing elegant lines on the paper with her quill, folding them into carefully shaped words. Her left hand twitched with the need to start from scratch—but she had begun this essay three times now; she could not afford to restart because of a few ink blotches, or a few lines of messy scrawl. She wasn’t going to get her standard four hours as it was—she would be lucky if she got two hours of a deep trance.

It was at times like these that she hated her drive for perfection.

She scrawled the last word and hastily placed the paper on her desk. She made sure her books were stacked high between it and her, so that she wouldn’t have to look at it. If she looked at it any longer, she’d rewrite the whole thing at least six more times, and probably miss breakfast.

She leaned back into the pillows and rubbed her temples. Her head pounded dully. She was going to work herself into an early grave.

But… if that was what it took…

Alinora would gladly bear that price.

 

“Eramyn… are you sure you shouldn’t sit today out? You look exhausted.” Kato stood back, eying her warily, like he was afraid she’d break.

Alinora grit her teeth. “It doesn’t matter. There are going to be days where I’m exhausted and I have to fight. It doesn’t matter how I feel, physically or emotionally. I have to _fight_. I can’t let any of it get the best of me. That’s how people like me get killed.”

Kato shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah… but… we’re training to be assassins. We take contracts. Most of them don’t have time limits… and if you do your job right, they don’t get a chance to fight back.”

Alinora darted her eyes away for half a beat. “There is always—always—a possibility that something could go wrong. Now, fight me. And properly, this time.”

He reared back. “Properly? What do you mean fight you _properly_?”

Alinora curled her mouth into a sneer, the corner of her upper lip lifting. “Exactly what I said. Fight me properly—without letting your emotions get the best of you. If I’m not going to let exhaustion get in my way, you’re not going to let anger get in yours.” Alright, not the most delicate way to address the situation, but when did she ever do things delicately anymore? Her approach with Sudi had been far more brutal.

He narrowed his eyes. “Fine.”

She smirked.

And the battle began.

Kato rushed forward. Alinora side-stepped. Kato stumbled but regained his balance quickly. He turned and rushed at her again, fist up and swinging. Alinora, again, spun away. This time, she stuck her foot out and watched as he tumbled to the floor. He jumped to his feet and glared at her; murder in his eyes. She smirked at him. He launched himself at her. She stepped aside. He fell to the floor with a ‘thud’. He pushed himself back to his feet and whirled to watch her. He didn’t even blink. For a bit, they did nothing but circle each other. Finally—he blinked. Alinora moved. She swung her fist into his gut. Kato exhaled a great rush of air and sprawled on his back. He blinked, dazed.

“I said,” Alinora loomed over him, “not to let your anger get the best of you. You get frustrated, and all of that training goes out the window. You’re _good_ , Kato. Really good. Or, you could be. But you let yourself get frustrated, and it makes you sloppy.” Her gaze was stone. “Get back up, and try again.”

He grimaced, but pushed himself to his feet. “You’re kind of a bitch, you know that?”

“Obviously, I’m not trying hard enough.” And then she lunged. Kato barely managed to block her in time.

Alinora fought hard, only barely remembering through her exhaustion to hold back. Kato was thrown on the defensive.  He barely managed to block her attacks in time. She could see him gritting his teeth; his jaw locked. His eyes burned.

Good.

She could feel herself starting to slow down. Her breathing had grown heavy. She grit her teeth. She threw a punch. Her arm tingled. Kato caught her wrist and yanked her forward. He drove his knee into her gut and his fist into her shoulder. Alinora landed on the training mats with a heavy thud. Her head bounced. A great whoosh of air expelled from her lungs. The room spun. Her vision blurred at the corners. She opened her mouth—to speak, to breathe, to _something_ —but nothing came.

She blinked.

When she opened her eyes, Rolfe was hovering above her worriedly. Kato stood next to him; chewing on his lip. His brows were furrowed. Sudi shifted uncomfortably on her other side. Flynn buzzed next to him, gaze frantically darting around for something to do. Oswick had his head tilted, ear in her direction. Elan even looked dimly aware; his normally expressionless face creased in worry.

She pushed up into a sitting position. Hands flapped uselessly around her. She lifted an arm to swat them away.

“I’m fine.”

“Fine?!” Flynn’s voice was more like a squeak. “You blacked out! That’s not fine! That’s pretty damn far from fine, actually!”

Alinora snorted. She looked at Kato. “Working with your anger instead of letting it control you. Good job.”

“Good jo— Jezebel, you just blacked out! After I knocked you down! That’s— Good job?!”

“You have _really_ gotta get your priorities straight,” Oswick said.

Rolfe cleared his throat. They quieted and looked to him. “Kato, you will continue training with Sudi for the rest of this session. Oswick, you will be paired with Flynn. Elan will sit out today.”

Alinora frowned. “Wait. What about me?”

“Ellis is going to walk you to your quarters and you are going to get some rest.”

“But—”

“And no trancing either,” Rolfe said, his tone stern. “You are going to get in that bed and _sleep_. I don’t want you to leave that room until tomorrow. You may turn in the homework over the weekend.”

“But—” She had to work! She couldn’t afford to miss a day—not when she didn’t even keep most of her paycheck!

“No buts. That’s final.”

“I have outside obligations,” she protested, unable to help herself. “I— I can’t just abandon those to get some _sleep_.”

_I don’t want to sleep. Don’t make me sleep._

“You can and you will. What obligations do you have? I will inform them that you cannot make it today.”

“Uh—I can do that.” Kato shifted. “I know where she needs to be.”

“Alright then.” Rolfe nodded. He looked over at Ellis, who was hovering by her feet. “Take her by the healer’s first. Get her a sleeping tonic.”

Alinora scowled. “I don’t want to sleep.”

“You need to sleep,” Ellis said gruffly. “You need to be at your best. Now, get up and come on. No more arguing. No more excuses.”

Alinora growled, but did as he said.

They left the training room and went by the healers. As Rolfe had instructed, Ellis made sure to get her a sleeping tonic. He glared at her until she swallowed the three drops that the healer had prescribed. Then, he walked her upstairs and to her room.

Alinora tried to fight off the potion. She went through the basic sword drills that Redd had taught her. Then practiced her bow form. She sharpened her daggers—it had been a while since they had been sharpened, so they were pretty dull. She did anything but sit still. (That meant starting her homework was out, though she wanted to.) But as time passed, her eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Her limbs became sluggish and stupid. Her thoughts were clouded and fuzzy.

Eventually, Alinora had no choice but to succumb to sleep. She passed out on top of her bedsheets, one hand dangling over the edge of the bed. She was still in her training outfit—a red band around her chest and cloth pants. Her shoes entrapped her feet.

 

Any hope she might have had for a dreamless sleep was dashed. The nightmares were worse than ever—a dark, nightmarish creature spoke in Liera’s voice as it touched her in ways she had only ever let one person. The voices of her friends, distorted and wrong, listed her sins in cruel detail as Alinora was helpless to do anything but sigh in pleasure.

Alinora woke.

She rolled off of her bed, barely managing to pull the chamber pot out before she heaved the contents of her stomach into it. Her body was soaked in sweat. She trembled. Tears streaked her face. Her mouth and nose burned. She heaved and heaved, until she was heaving nothing but air.

When the muscles of her stomach finally stilled, Alinora slumped. Every breath made her chest shudder. Her shoulders shook.

She was crying.

She lifted a hand, her arm numb and nearly useless, to wipe away her tears with the palm of her hand. She only succeeded in smearing snot across her cheek.

To think she had once been a Myneran princess.

 

When Alinora had finally recovered, she cleaned herself up. She splashed water from the washbasin across her face. She patted the cold liquid around her eyes until they were no longer red and puffy; until the flush of her cheeks had dimmed to a normal level. Then, she rinsed her mouth out and spat in the chamber pot.

She dressed in one of her spare uniforms—black button up shirt over white breast band; black trousers over white smallclothes. A red band around her waist. She undid the braid of her hair and brushed it out, until not a tangle could be found. Then she braided it once more—tight and unyielding. She made the bed, fixing the rumples she had left behind. She cleaned her clothes off of the floor and placed them in a basket. She straightened her desk; piling the homework she would finish for the weekend in the corner. Her books were still in the classroom.

That made things easier.

She picked up the chamberpot and glanced out the window. Stars still shone in the sky, though light had begun to show on the horizon. Good.

She walked silently through the school until she reached one of the springs. It had been blocked off; the water filtered into tubs. This was for the servants to wash clothes and dishes. Alinora came here nearly every morning. She disposed of the vomit down a small chute made especially for dumping chamberpots and washed it thoroughly, with soap and sand and hot water. When she was done, she carried it back to her room and slid it under the bed where it belonged.

With time still left before she needed to make her way down to the dining hall, Alinora started on her homework. She could get the easiest assignments done first, and turn them in either today or tomorrow. The more difficult ones she could spread out over a period of days and hand them in over the weekend, as Rolfe had asked—ordered.

When the sun was nearly halfway over the horizon, Alinora put the quill down. She capped the ink and blew on the paper until she was sure it was dry. She took her finished assignment downstairs with her and dropped it off at her desk.

Then she made for the dining hall. The food hadn’t been set out yet, but there was coffee. How they managed to afford enough coffee for all of the students was beyond Alinora (she had her suspicions; like that the headmaster was holding out on them, and they got more funding than he actually said) but she was grateful for it all the same.

“I, uh. Didn’t expect you to be up yet,” Sudi said as she stirred a spoonful of sugar into her coffee. “Most people I know who take one of the healer’s draughts don’t get up until mid afternoon.”

“I fell asleep abot mid afternoon,” Alinora pointed out. “I’ve slept over fourteen hours. I think that’s more than enough time.”

“Er… yeah, true.” He shifted. “Feeling better?”

“No.” She sipped her coffee.

“Oh. Um. Are you sure you need to be in class today?”

She glared at him over the rim of her mug. He shrunk. “I’m attending class unless Rolfe or Ellis drag me out by the hair. Mind your own business.”

Sudi swallowed, but didn’t speak.

Good. It was better that way. She didn’t want to care about people and she didn’t want people to care about her. Caring would only get in her way.

 

During breakfast, no one spoke to her. Their whole group was silent. Even when they reached the classroom, silence ruled. It was oppressive. Heavy. Tense. Her stomach turned.

Alinora didn’t care.

Rolfe walked in and sat at his desk. He observed the class; his gaze fixed upon her the longest. “You don’t look rested, Jezebel. Are you sure you don’t need more sleep?”

Sh grit her teeth. “No, sir. My kind weren’t meant to sleep in such long bouts. We’re made more for trancing, you see. Sleeping for that long… it’s like if you were to sleep for a week straight. You would wake up very groggy. The only cure is to stay awake—and hopefully get the blood moving again.”

Rolfe nodded. “I see. Perhaps the healer should not have prescribed so strong a dose, then.”

“Perhaps.” _Or perhaps I should have been left to trance, as is proper for me and mine._

Rolfe left the subject alone, after that, for which she was grateful. The day continued as normal—though he made her sit to the side and do drills during training. He didn’t say anything about her out of school obligations. The second he disappeared into his office to get some grading done… Alinora was off to Verdani.


	6. Chapter 6

_Things were odd after that._

_They all walked on eggshells around me._

_Ellis held back during our spars. He shortened their length considerably—treating me like I was made of glass. As if a little roughhousing would send me to the infirmary! Hah. I’d learned my lesson. Like hell I was going to be forced to sleep again._

_Rolfe paired me with Elan and Flynn. Flynn always made the ‘out’ symbol as soon as he was knocked to the ground, and never tried his best. He was a halfling, full of magic even the archmages didn’t understand. Knew how to use it, too, from what I could tell. Probably a halfling prodigy, if they recognized them as such. (I’d never been to a halfling village; never been immersed in halfling culture. Neither had most of the world. Reclusive little things; skeptical of the Big People. I can’t blame them.)_

_Elan was… Well. He was probably one of the few elves who could compete with me for speed. Thing was, long as he was trapped in that trancelike state… he never did anything. Just stood there. Creepily. Until I pushed him over._

_He didn’t get back up until he was helped up._

_I remember once, I just stood there, until Rolfe called time. Staring into his eyes. Rolfe called time earlier that day. I think we creeped everyone out. They wouldn’t even look at me during dinner, and sat a good distance away._

_I was, perhaps, more gleeful over their discomfort than I should have been. I still smirk at the thought._

_Anyway._

_Their… cautiousness was enough to make a girl go mad! I resented them more than anything else. I kept reminding myself to look on the bright side, lest I explode and kill someone. (Could I have done it? I want to think the worst of myself, and say yes, but to be honest, I’m not sure. I was in such a fragile state back then, even if I didn’t want to admit it.)_

_Kato and Sudi were improving drastically. As Sudi grew more powerful, he used his natural speed and strength to fight. Kato had to work harder, which frustrated him. He got knocked to the floor a lot. But slowly, he began to learn what I had tried to tell him. He took his frustration, and his anger, and channeled into battle. He was such an observant person. He saw things others might miss, but he was also impulsive. Sudi’s new talent forced him to learn to use his weaknesses as strengths._

_Now, I can candidly admit that it was for the best that he fought Sudi, instead of me._

_Kato and I… there was something about being near him. It made us both reckless. Rash. I said things that I shouldn’t, things that I regret. It was in arguments with Kato that the others gleaned the most about my past—and at the time, I was absorbed enough in my anger that I didn’t think that anyone might be listening._

_Now… I look back and I see it for what it was. But at the time, he was an annoyance—a bother. I hated him, and I admired him. He felt the same for me, I think, and it was an explosive combination._

_Rolfe found us irritating. Ellis found it entertaining. Sudi worried about collateral damage. Oswick listened, and learned. Flynn seemed torn between the halfling’s natural dislike of conflict and his own inward desire of mischief and mayhem. Elan… I do not know what he gleaned from those moments. I never dared to ask._

_All of that made it for the best that he learned with Sudi, instead of me. And it gave me time to observe the others._

_Oswick needed no help. He might have been blind, but that didn’t make him weak. He was clever, and good at playing on people’s own perceptions. Seeing him as a stubborn blind dwarf, and therefore a weak target. The other teachers saw this, and declared him a lost cause—but Rolfe saw something else. Once we implemented magic into our training, Oswick would be unstoppable—he proved as much at the end of the year, though that’s getting ahead of ourselves._

_Flynn…_

_Flynn was a halfling, and had a halfling’s magic. He could disappear in plain sight, become unnoticed even in a one-on-one battle. His true strength would be in group battles; with the disappearing, and the halfing’s perfect aim, and his own ability to sow mischief._

_Getting him to do it… that was another story._

_It was damn near impossible to piss Flynn off. Truly, I don’t believe I ever managed it. I tried—so many times. Goddamn did I try. Even before everything, with Kai’os, and Mynera, and the shapeshifters… pissing people off was a natural talent._

_But._

_Nothing._

_Worked._

_Not on Flynn. He was imperterable. The opposite of Kato. I could breathe a certain way and piss him off—and often did, just to amuse myself._

_Finally, I decided to forgo my usual approach. I approached him, alone, after class. Very unwillingly. I’m sure it showed, as he didn’t make half as many of his usual jokes, nor pretend to be as oblivious as normal._

_He listened to me, and promised to give it a try. He started using it. Usually against me, instead of the others. Very rarely. I suppose he wanted to keep the surprise attack a surprise._

_Or, perhaps, more likely—he was more like Sudi, and didn’t care for the fighting. Not like Oswick, Kato, and I. Our blood heated before training and we were all too eager to go at each other in the ring. Sudi trained because it was expected, and he hated to fail other’s expectations. I was also told his parents had sent him to the school, and had their own expectations involving them. (I met his mother, later. Admirable woman, though we clashed often.)_

_Elan…_

_If I had magic, I could have talked to him. Trance-links were among the most base magics that the Elenai—and other elves—learned. There, in his own private mental sanctum, he couldn’t have slipped away. He would have been present, wholly. It would have been a unique experience, and I think that I would have enjoyed it, though I would not have admitted it._

_But I didn’t have magic, and so I could not._

_During one of my weekends, when I had a day off from work and had caught up on all of my extra assignments, I decided to research it._

_The library at Desert’s Edge didn’t have much. I’d discovered that earlier in the week, and so I planed to use this day to visit the Magus College in Verdani._

 

Since she had come to Verdani, Alinora had heard many remark that Verdani was a “dry dock.” She could see the comparison. It was the last city one reached before entering into the desert proper. There was still greenery about—hardy trees and underbrush that could stand the intense heat and the sand. Thorny desert roses and tall desert peach trees. There were even some red berries, which grew sparsely here but more thoroughly in the deeper desert.

Like any dock, it had its attractions. It was a place for traveling merchants to stop by, and it was a place where goods were traded heavily.

The Magus College had its place in every country on Eldora—or, at least, the northern half. The southern half was still mysterious to Alinora. She knew what she had heard—wandering bands of Tauros, a city half in and half out of the water, a sprawling swamp whose center was a wellspring, a city of giant trees which belonged to the wood elves—but Alinora had never been one to trust hearsay.

Eldora could be a fantastical place, it was true, but people were still prone to bouts of fiction, when it suited them.

The Magus College, whether it extended south or not, was placed all over the northern half of Eldora. The only country they had not spread to, to Alinora’s knowledge, was Mynera. They had been in talks. A group had just left, a few days before Alinora had left and the city had fallen.

Had word reached their ears, she wondered? Had her mother and father already been eaten by shifters? Had the shifters closed in on their ranks?

She didn’t know. Perhaps she never would.

The questions kept her up at night, though she resolutely ignored them during the day.

The College was based in Illuminara. An illustrious city of Alumi. A city of light and learning. Her mother had promised to take her, and Alinora ached that the knowledge that she would probably never see it. It was the founding point. The Lumina family had built it, and people had flocked to them. Illuminara was born, headed by the Archmage and their collection of alumni.

When the College had joined the Syndicate, adding its battlemages to their Knights and Hunters, they had spread outward. Just as the Knights had their Halls of Valor; the Hunters and Huntresses had their Lodges; the Mages had their colleges. Verdani was its host within the desert country of city-states, and mages from all across the sands came to learn here.

The College prided themselves on being open with their knowledge—to a point. Anything deemed overly dangerous was kept away for public safety, as well as topics that didn’t have enough research on them. What Alinora sought ought to be inside. And, while she had access, she planned on researching her _own_ oddity. A complete and utter lack of magic couldn’t be completely unique in a world as large and varied as Eldora, could it?

 

Verdani’s Magus College was large enough to rival Verdani’s palace. (The whole city seemed to exemplify the word “grandiose.”) The college was surrounded by a wall, which was manned by battlemages in the city guard uniform. The gates were open; the Magus seal in the center cut in half. However, despite the open gates, Alinora was ushered into a small office.

Behind a desk sat a Serai woman. Her hair had been fashioned into dreadlocs, which she had pulled into a ponytail behind her head. Her face was painted—or perhaps tattooed—though Alinora did not understand the significance. Three golden-white dots lay on her lower eyelids, and her upper eyelids shimmered gold. Four gold-white dots lay on her forehead and chin; between the top and bottom two dots, a line descended from forehead to chin. Another line went across her cheekbones, underneath which were six golden dots.

It was quite striking.

She wore white robes with golden accents, and the schools crest lay on each of her shoulders. She smiled politely. “Welcome to the College of Magus—not to be confused with the Circle of Magi. How can I help you?”

“I’d like access to the library,” Alinora said.

“Are you visiting from one of our sister sites?”

“No.”

“Then you’ll need a visitor’s pass. I’ll need to fill out a form, so that we have records of you. Would you mind giving me your name?”

“Jezebel Eramyn.”

“Thank you.” The woman held a dip pen in one hand and used the other to hold her paper still. “In order to ensure the safety of our students and the surrounding area, I need to include a physical description. You’ll also need to check in with me when you’ve finished, so your arrival time and departure time are recorded.”

Anywhere else, that would have seemed excessive. Given that the school probably housed dangerous knowledge and dangerous magical artifacts, Alinora could understand the caution. That didn’t mean she liked the delay.

“Very well.”

The woman scribbled a few more things down, likely noting what she could see. Then, “Could I get your race?”

“Half-elf,” Alinora said slowly, almost questioning.

“Of which elven race?”

Alinora hesitated before answering. “The Elenai.”

The woman paused a moment. “Truly? Are you on pilgrimage, then?”

“Something like that.”

“It’s a delight to have you here.” The woman beamed at her. “The Elenai are full of magical wisdom to impart. If you have the time… I’m a student here, you see. I’m working on a paper about the Elenai and their history as guardians of Eldora—namely, their magical contributions. I’d be willing to trade knowledge for knowledge. The library’s set-up can be a bit confusing for those who don’t study here—I know it made my early years at college rather difficult!—and it can be helpful to have someone more experienced to help you.”

Alinora considered. That could shorten the time she needed to look—and the time she needed to come back—greatly. On the other, it would involve interacting with _more_ people, which was something she had hoped to avoid today.

Still...

If she was just looking up Elan’s problem, she probably would have said no. But if rumors were true, the library would be an expansive collection of tomes… and finding answers to _her_ problem could take weeks. Months. Maybe even years, though she highly doubted that. Perhaps if she visited the site in Illuminara.

She relented. “I’d be happy to. My knowledge is little compared to my teachers, but if I can impart anything of use, I’d be happy to.” Just because she rarely used her decorum lessons didn’t mean she didn’t possess them.

The woman beamed at her again. “Excellent!” Her face fell a bit. “Although… My shift doesn’t end for another hour.”

“That’s quite alright,” Alinora said. “I have… two main questions. The first will be easy enough to answer on my own. It’s the second I’ll have trouble with—especially since it’s just going to invite more questions. I’ll need guidance for that, and I’d be happy to accept your help. But I can spend an hour or so looking up the answers to my first question.”

The woman smiled in relief. “That’s good to hear. If you have need of me, just send for Rianne.” Rianne handed Alinora her visitor’s pass; an enchanted necklace. “The doors of our library only respond to a specific spell. This amulet contains that spell. Just hold it up to the door and you’ll be allowed entrance. Just don’t forget to turn it in at the visitor’s gate, or the library counter, when you’re done!”

“I won’t,” Alinora said easily, slipping the amulet over her head. She smiled tightly. “Thank you.”

She hadn’t even considered that problem. A library—a _school_ —full of magic… and a girl with none. At least the door problem had been solved, but… who knew what others would crop up? It would seem the stars were on her side, allowing her to run into Rianne.

 

Alinora made for the library. Like the rest of the building, it was grand. The room itself was circular—much like the library in Mynera’s palace. Were the Sage here, she was sure he would say something about the metaphor of an endless wealth of knowledge and the endless loop of the circle. The thought made her smirk, a bit, before her face fell again.

The only place he would get to say that now was in her mind.

Unless getting devoured by shapeshifters didn’t consume his entire being, and he was existing out there in the afterlife somewhere. But if the process was as complete as the shifter had implied it was… well. Alinora didn’t have much hope.

Perhaps she ought to research the Sha’roth, too? If her search for Elan didn’t take too much time, she certainly would.

(Perhaps a bestiary could help? She had owned one as a child, but it had only been one part of a set—and she had never asked for the rest of the set. Perhaps if she had… No. There was no use thinking of it. If she had time, she’d look up the Sha’roth. If she didn’t, she could do it another day. The library wouldn’t vanish in a day.)

Alinora waved a passing greeting to the librarian, who scrutinized her robeless form for a moment, before alighting on the necklace and going back to her reading. Students milled through the aisles, and crowded around tables, but there were blessed few of them. Likely no important exams coming up.

There were signs to help guide new students through the library, making it a little less confusing than Alinora had anticipated after Rianne’s warning. However, the sheer amount of books made research difficult.

She found the section on magic, and the subsection on elves. It took at least a half an hour to find a book that _might_ contain what she wanted—Alinora wasn’t too sure. The library, being more in the middle of the college, didn’t exactly have windows. The library in Mynera did—the roof itself was a window, covered in enchantments to keep it from breaking. It wouldn’t hold if, say, a dragon fell on it, but it was sturdy enough.

She found a quiet table, shoved off in a corner, but where she could still see the door. Back to the wall, she flipped through the pages of her book— _A Study of Elves and Magic, by Alfric Underhill_. A gnome, according to the author blurb in the back. The book had been written when he was around 180, or so. He was somewhere in his 230’s, now, and an esteemed member of the Magus Council in Illuminara.

Alinora cradled her cheek in the palm of one hand, elbow digging into the hard surface of the table, and flipped to the table of contents with the other, dragging her finger down the page as she skimmed over it.

Three chapters jumped out at her— _Magical Oddities_ , _Magical Disorders_ , and _On Trancing_. She memorized the page number for each, settled more comfortable into her chair, and flipped to the first section.

 

Rianne arrived when she was halfway through the second session. Alinora looked up to her bright smile, the white-and-gold robes ditched in favor of a cream colored tunic and doeskin trousers. She settled across from Alinora, and pulled out her own stack of papers, as well as a portable ink-and-quill set and got to work on something, leaving Alinora to work in peace.

Say what you wanted about mages, but they were, first and foremost, scholars, and thus, they knew when it was best to leave someone alone.

Alinora went back to her reading.

It, of course, wasn’t until the third section that she found what she was looking for. She should have just started there from the beginning—of course something like Elan’s case would have been in the chapter on _trancing_. She didn’t beat herself up over it for too long.

Alinora pulled out one of the notebooks supplied to her by Desert’s Edge. It was a simple thing; blank pages bound together by black leather.

Her penmanship had always been something she was proud of—elegant, sloping letters, with wide curls and sweeps. They looked best fresh, still gleaming with ink, and she was careful not to smear them.

_Elan’s trancelike state is exactly what it seems—a trance. Trancing is a uniquely elven thing. Other races can come close through forms of deep meditation, but none have been able to truly replicate the state. (However, it also works vice versa; elves cannot truly **dream** , because they cannot achieve true “sleep.” There have been multiple attempts to create a spell that can send an elf into this state, and all have been failures.)_

_Simply put, every race has a unique way of reacting with the magic on Eldora. Elves have more natural talent when dealing with magic—the why is unknown, though there are many folktales and legends surrounding this ability. The trancelike state is just one manifestation of this._

_Everyone has a sort of… well, from which they draw their magic. Granted, many beings do not possess any of their own, inward magic, but there is still a sort of well, which is where the power drawn from the air is stored. While trancing, elves can access this well. The surrounding area, much like a dream, shifts to imitate whatever is on the elves subconscious—however, most elves learn how to control this area at a young age, reflecting whatever they wish to see. They call this the “mindscape.”_

_As such, elves experience a sort of “lucid dreaming” every night._

_While in a trance, elves can be semi-conscious of the outside world; meaning, elves can sleep with their eyes open._

_Elan does such a thing every day. He is always, in a sense, asleep—even when he appears to be awake. His problem, according to Alfric Underhill’s studies, is that he has too much magic for his “well” to handle. By trancing, Elan can sort of “contain” it. As he gets older, the need to trance constantly will fade, and he will be able to be “awake” more often._

_However, that doesn’t fix the current problem._

_There are two ways to solve it in the here and now. The first is a daily outlet—somewhere he can cast himself into a smaller load of magic. However, for an elf to have so much magic that he cannot even wake up properly… I don’t recommend it._

_The second is to have something that can help him contain it. There are crystals mined for just this reason. One large enough to contain his magic might be a bit hard to come by given the fact that we’re far from any mines, but it shouldn’t be too expensive—these crystals are **everywhere**._

Alinora put her quill in the jar and shut the book. She waited patiently for Rianne to finish the page she was working on and carefully blow the ink dry before putting it to the side.

“Did you get your question answered?” Rianne asked, a small smile on her face.

“Yes,” Alinora confirmed. _And raised more about myself_. No one had ever told her what a proper trance was supposed to be like. She wondered if it was the same for all Alarai, or if her lack of magic—and ability to draw it from the air—meant that she didn’t _have_ a well. (The mindscape could still be achieved, but only through deep meditation.)

“Good. So what was your other question?”

“I wanted to know if there have been incidents regarding people being born without magic— _and_ without the ability to draw magic from the air. Just… nothing. A void.”

Rianne’s brow furrowed. “That… is a very strange question. Do… Do you mind if I ask how it came up? Have you… Have you ever met someone like that? I can’t say it’s anything I’ve heard of before!”

Alinora grimaced. She should have seen that part coming.

Ah. Well. One more person knowing about her… deformity? Oddity?... couldn’t hurt. She reached out her hand. “Focus on my hand, if you will.”

Rianne still looked perplexed, but she did as Alinora asked. Alinora focused on that inner reserve of magic her mother had tried to coax her into reaching when she was small—the one she could never touch, no matter how she strained.

As per usual, it eluded her grasp. Instead, she found only a deep, dark well of _nothing_.

After a moment, she let go, and found her heart racing; taking a short, sharp breath as she settled back into herself. That would never fail to be disturbing.

“I… That…” Rianne stared at her, dumbfounded. “That was… How… What?”

Alinora shrugged, sinking into her seat. “I don’t understand it either. It’s just… always been like that.”

Alinora remembered when the council got a new member. He’d been away from Mynera since before she was born, and thus had only heard passing mention of her lack of magic. He hadn’t really believed it. Had taken it the way most did, when she said it—that she had no inner reserve, but was still perfectly capable of drawing it from the air. He’d been stunned to realize that wasn’t the case.

She had overheard him having a conversation with her mother, a few days later.

_“I didn’t think that letter was serious. Has she always been like that… or… was there an accident? A complication with the birth?”_

_Her mother chuckled, but there was something sad in it. “We assumed that at first, too. When she was born… Everything went perfectly. Aishlynn… You remember that. The labor dragged on for hours, and no herb could dull the pain.”_

_When Councilman Perynth spoke, he sounded like he was smiling. “She had that shock of white hair on her head, and when she cried, you could hear it all through the western half of the castle. Wasn’t even a week old before she was casting spells. Fairy lights was her favorite.”_

_Her mother laughed again, this one happier. “I remember! Always did have a gift for summoning spells. Never would bring her materials to class. Aggravated Jinna to no end.”_

_There was a warm silence._

_“But… to the matter at hand. Alinora’s birth was smooth. Seamless. I was in proper labor for two hours, and she came out easily; crying as loud as her little lungs would let her. She was smaller than Aishlynn, and a fair bit quieter, but no less perfect. But a week passed, and there was no sign of magic. Two weeks more, still, nothing. Lady Ilwyn had given birth Liera a few months before—four months apart, they were—and she’d made illusionary fireworks every time she laughed. It was the same for every other child born around Alinora. All of them were casting within at least two days after their birth, if not earlier. Levitating things; balls of light… there were even tales of children summoning toys they had been denied! But Alinora… didn’t. Of course, Eadric and I dismissed it as her being a late-bloomer and went on with our lives. But a year passed, and then another, and there was still no sign of magic. At two, the Sage named her heir, and once again, we fooled ourselves into thinking that her magic was there, it just needed time to show itself._

_“We were wrong._

_“It was Sage Ethari who told us so. I’d been trying magic exercise after magic exercise with Alinora and there was… nothing. She visited him every weekend, and I suppose, one weekend, she’d confided him. He pulled me aside, and told me she was magicless. Completely. Incapable of even pulling magic from the air. I was— Scythes curse me, I was so disappointed. A magicless child? Could you even imagine? She would always, always struggle in this world of ours, no matter what accommodations we made for her._

_“But… She was so bright, and happy. Mischievous. Her lack of magic made her creative. She couldn’t achieve the same results as her friends through the same means, so she found different ones. It was… inspiring to watch.” Her mother sounded like she was smiling again. “It matters not that she has no magic, Perynth. She doesn’t need it. I think that makes her stronger than the rest of us.”_

_Perynth was silent for a moment. Then, “I look forward to seeing it, Elinor.”_

Alinora shook herself from the memory. It had been ages since she’d thought of that. It had crushed her, deeply, to know that her mother had ever, even for a moment, been disappointed in her. Especially for something as fundamentally unchangeable as her lack of magic. But she’d held on to those words at the end—“It makes her stronger than us,” she’d said. It had been a point of pride.

“I…” Rianne shook her head. “Alright. I don’t… I don’t think we’re going to find anything on that. It’s… Divines, it’s fascinating, but if someone else was capable of it, and we had records of it, it would be something I’d have heard about. We might find something in the folklore and fairytales section, but… that’s not going to answer your question. However… I might not be able to find any documentation of it… but… I think I can help you out in a different way. If you’re willing to work with me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean… there’s potential, in you. Not magic. Not like the rest of us understand. But there’s… something. I just need to test my theory. It won’t take but a few seconds. I’m going to cast a magelight, and then I want you to reach out to it. Have you ever attempted to reach outwards?”

Alinora nodded, slowly.

“Good. I want you to do that, next to the magelight, and then we’ll see what happens.”

“What are you expecting to happen?”

Rianne studied her for a moment. “When you were doing your thing, there, all of the magic in the space around your hand just… fled. Well. No. That’s not accurate. You… cast?... whatever you were casting, and the magic in that area was sucked dry. So, I expect the magelight to disappear—to wink out of existence. You’re like… the anti-mage, if you will. But I don’t know if I’m right or not. Maybe it did just flee, and it only looked like it was absent. But it can’t hurt to try.”

Alinora stared for a moment. How had no one hit up0n that before? …Maybe no one wanted to think about it. After all, magic was intrinsic to Eldoran life. After a moment, she nodded. “Alright. Let’s try.”

Rianne conjured her light; a small, golden-white ball that hovered between them, seeming to twinkle merrily. Alinora reached out, and cupped her palm around it. She reached outward, trying in vain to touch something—anything.

The warmth of the spell hit her. It felt like… sunlight. Sunlight, climbing from her palm to her elbow, before dissipating into normal body heat. The magelight itself flickered once… and then it was gone.

Rianne beamed. “Oh, that’s just delightful!” she said. “How _fascinating_. I’d like to cast more, if you don’t mind?”

“No,” Alinora said faintly, staring the spot the light had once been. “I don’t mind at all.”

Rianne cast more. Another golden-white ball. A pink-white one. A blue-white one. A purple-white one. Green-white. Orange-white.

“I want to try something a little different this time,” Rianne said, as Alinora reached out her hand. “This time, I want you to put your hand out, like you were telling someone to stop. I want you to reach out with your… er. We really need a name for this.” Rianne shook her head. “I want you to reach out mentally, and try to snag as many balls as you can in one go.”

Alinora nodded, once. She reached out, palm outward, and took in a breath. She reached out.

She caught the pink one first. Sunlight traveled up her arm. The blue one winked out next. The sunlight carried up to her shoulder. Purple, after that. Alinora tasted peaches, as the light expanded to her neck. Green. The sunlight expanded into her chest. Orange. It consumed her other arm. The golden one came last, and Alinora felt warm from head to toe; mouth exploding with the flavor of peaches and cream. Her mouth watered.

Rianne beamed.

Alinora, too, found herself smiling. Her power—because that was what it was, wasn’t it? Not a deformity or a faulty piece, but a real and true _power_ —had always left her feeling cold, and bereft. Sometimes she felt the slightest tingle at her fingertips, but the rest of her… Numb, almost.

“That was _amazing_ ,” Rianne said, eyes shining. “If we head back to the visitor’s office we can get you some forms to go into the research labs. I can get us a private room there. I want to try bigger and better spells, and… well. The library isn’t really the place for that.”

Alinora’s smile grew. If a few magelights caused her entire upper torso to feel like she was bathing in sunbeams, she’d like to know what stronger spells felt like. More than that, she wanted to know the true expanse of her power. “Let me put this book up.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I would like to just say... I know nothing about sewing. It's mentioned very briefly, but that doesn't mean that I didn't make any errors! I may do some research later and come back to edit it :P
> 
> The shopping bit itself could probably be expanded a bit or removed, but--I dunno. I'm rather fond of it, lol!
> 
> TW: Memories of rape/non-con. While not as it actually happened, it's still there. It's marked with italics towards the end of the section, and it's easily skippable.

_Rianne and I experimented for the better part of the day, before I finally had to leave for dinner. I dropped off my notes with Rolfe, who said he’d look into the crystals, and then went to dinner. But I was still riding the high of my new discovery. My good mood did wonders to repair whatever damage had been done by my horrible mood before._

_I shared with them my discovery about Elan—but kept my personal discoveries to myself. Rianne and I weren’t quite done experimenting, and I was due to see her on my next day off. Which was generally the same day every week. I wanted, and she wanted, to know the depth of my power._

_Of course, she also wanted to document it’s study, and I was willing to let her. In retrospect, that was a bit of a mistake, but at the time, all I thought about was how long I had lived believing that this was some sort of curse, or affliction… when truthfully, it was untapped potential. Other half-Elenai might be born with such abilities and I did not want them to live as I had._

_So I let her write the papers, and document her research. I was using an alias, and so I let her include the name in her papers—Jezebel Eramyn might ping off those close to me, but to anyone else, I would be some random elf. Wasn’t like they could check Mynera’s genealogical records, after all._

_It took time, and training, in order for me to learn to wield it properly. It was an underdeveloped muscle, brought to light for the first time in years. Using it made me tired, and quickly. But I loved it. Each spell was a wealth of power. Dismissing it filled me with warmth. The taste was the afterflavor of the magic, which was unique to the caster. (Another one of those small intricacies of magic I had been ignorant of.) We practiced it in combat a few times, though nothing substantial. Rianne was studying the more theoretical aspects of magic… not battlemagic. While she knew a few battle spells, it wasn’t anything like what I would face in a real fight. Still. It was practice enough. She tossed fireballs at me—after ensuring we were both wearing a fire resistance charm—and I learned to counter them. I went back to the school a bit singed sometimes, but always **alive**._

_More alive than I’d felt a long time._

_The training took months. Months in which my classmates, save for Elan, improved greatly. Elan’s crystal was out of the budget that Rolfe had been provided, making it all the more urgent that we won the upcoming tournament—which grew closer and closer with each passing day._

_I felt suitably ready. I didn’t expect to do wonderfully during the magic rounds; not with my power being as underdeveloped as it was, but I could make up for it in the others. My classmates would hold their own, which was all anyone could ask, and would hopefully do so well enough for them to place well in the tournament. They had, after all, improved by leaps and bounds. Simon and Kato most so. Flynn was still frustratingly blasé about the training, but Kato had told me he was always more serious for the tournament. And Oswick, of course, didn’t need any help—he would do just fine._

_However, with the tournament closing in, that also meant that I would need clothes. My funds had grown substantially, but my generosity towards the beggars which lurked outside the tavern meant that they hadn’t grown as large as I would have liked._

_Verdani was a city that lurked on the edges of a vast desert. It was the stop between the desert and the rest of the world. It was also a good place for people who were looking to experience the charms of the desert without going so deep in that they experience the actual “charm” of the desert._

_In short, it was a tourist town. A rest stop. They got a lot of travelers… and so the prices could be exorbitant, if one didn’t know where to look. Luckily, I did. Unluckily, I was going shopping a little too late to get something tailor made—not that it would have been in my price range anyway, if I wanted to partake in any festival foods. Which I did._

_Which meant it was off to the thrift stores. I was small-but-large enough that size wouldn’t be much of an issue—and I knew my way around a needle and thread. Not well enough to sew an entire dress, but well enough that I could loosen dresses that were too tight and tighten dresses that were too loose. I could hem a dress easily enough, though lengthening was a bit out of my reach. Not unless I was lucky enough to find some matching fabric. And even then the work would look shoddy…_

_Anyway._

_It was off to Verdani I went._

Alinora’s coin pouch was a heavy weight at her hip. With every step the coins inside clinked together; a dull chiming sound that kept time to her movements. She would need to move the bag to a more secure location once she got to Verdani, but for the moment, it was fine where it was.

The desert air was still. The afternoon sun beat down on her back. Sand shifted beneath her boots. She wished that she could have brought Ezzi—riding was so much easier than walking—but da’lia were not built for the desert. Riding at night was alright, but during the day? Better to avoid it when possible. She only rode her to the city when she was in danger of being late to work—and when she did, she always made sure to stable Ezzi in one of the best stables and make sure that she was fed and watered.

Alinora walked around one of the sand dunes and adjusted the pack on her shoulders. It was mostly empty. It contained only a few canteens of water and the leftovers of lunch she hadn’t finished. A dagger was sheathed in one of her boots—and it had taken a while to get used to that! The sheath hidden in the boot was supposed to be barely noticeable but Alinora had been aware of it near constantly for the first week. She had another dagger strapped to her forearm, hidden beneath the sleeve of her leathers. That one, at least, didn’t bother her as much.

After walking around another sand dune, the city came into sight. In the distance, she could just make out the red roofs of the buildings, and the off-white stone of the walls. Cloth lines decorated with triangular strips of fabric were strung from roof to roof—and in the alleyways, these cloth lines became clotheslines instead, dresses and trousers and shirts hung out to dry in the desert sun. She couldn’t see any of that from this distance—not even with enhanced elven sight—but she could imagine it.

As soon as the gate was in sight, she untied her coinpurse from her belt and placed it in the satchel on her other hip. It was only slightly more secure than leaving it out in the open, but so long as she kept her hand on it at all times, it would decrease the chance of it being stolen by a pickpocket. It would, however, increase the chance of her being _noticed_ for carrying coin—but… she would make do. She was confident in her ability to face any common thief, at least. And the thieves’ guild would not dare mess with one of the Swans. (Even if she _was_ just a student.) She still carried Redd’s swan figurine—she had wanted to wear it on a chain, but there were too many people out there who would recognize it, and the last thing she wanted to do was get arrested.

It was a relief to walk on stone instead of sand. Though there was no escaping it, the stones were at least easier to walk on.

She weaved her way through the crowds of people. It was still a struggle, and her gut still churned, but she was getting better at it. At any rate, she was moving faster through the crowds than she had before, which was… something, at least.

She bypassed the tailors. She didn’t have the coin to buy anything made specifically for her—even if she wanted to. She missed all of the pretty dresses in her closet back home. She’d always been fond of white. White, green, and red. Those were her favorite colors to wear—though not all together. She would accent the red and the green with gold—while she left the white plain.

A wistful sigh escaped her lips.

She immediately hated herself for it. How could she be thinking of _dresses_ of all things? She scowled at herself. There were more important things to concern herself with.

She reached a dress shop. One thing that Alinora had always liked about Verdani’s bazaar was that many shops catered to the less wealthy. You had to know where to find them, but there were stores with affordable prices for both the middle and lower class. Mynera hadn’t had any such thing—but, then, the class differences in Mynera had been nearly non-existent.

Or, so Alinora believed. She supposed it was possible that wasn’t true, and from her seat in the upper class she just wasn’t aware of it… but when the Sage, the council, and the monarch could be any citizen of Mynera… well. Class differences would be less, wouldn’t they?

She shook her head. It was pointless wondering about _class differences_ (of all the things to be thinking about!). Sometimes she had to wonder about herself.

She made her way through the store, pushing through the racks and looking for something that might fit her. It was always hit or miss with these places—it depended on who supplied them what the sizes were like. Sometimes the clothes were all for tiny people, and sometimes they were all for larger people. Finding a good middle-range was difficult.

Each dress her fingers brushed was made of rough, scratchy fabric. Nothing like what she had used to wear at all—but, then, she was expecting that.

Eventually, she settled on one white dress and one red dress. The woman managing the store allowed her to try them on behind a partition. They didn’t fit as well as her old ones, but they fit well enough. She could make some slight adjustments, provided the servants at Desert’s Edge allowed her to borrow some needle and thread.

Alinora bought them.

Two dresses. Now, she just needed a pair of shoes. Her boots would do if they needed to, but she would much prefer a pair better suited to dancing. Soft and bendable; with flat soles. It had been too long since she had last _danced_. It was, perhaps, a bit out of character for Jezebel Eramyn… but Alinora didn’t care. She wanted one night—one night—where she didn’t have to remember all of the troubles that had plagued her.

She wouldn’t be getting drunk—who knew what she would say, or do—but she could get tipsy. Dance. Laugh. Perhaps away from her classmates. She had an image to maintain, after all.

Or… she could blame the alcohol.

Yes, that sounded plausible enough.

A wistful sigh escaped her lips. Already she longed for the festival. It would be nothing like she was used to, but she didn’t mind. In fact, she relished the thought. She didn’t _want_ it to be like it used to. That would just hurt more.

She would do this Dezirna’s way. Or, perhaps, more accurately, _Uhari’s_ way. Independent city states, and all that.

Alinora found a cobbler that sold already-made shoes and found a pair that would fit her. She went with brown—soft, a similar color to the tan coats of the deer in the forests back home. Between the dresses and the shoes, her funds had decreased exponentially, but Alinora was pleased with her purchases. Everything—coin and clothes—stored safely in her pack, Alinora left Verdani.

 

A little over a week later, the Desert’s Edge students set out towards their sister school, Hidden Oasis. Each class traveled as a group.

The headmaster traveled with Vernus—much to Ellis and Rolfe’s consternation. Vernus was, apparently, insufferable enough as it was, and the headmaster was only feeding that. Alinora had only met the man a few times, and she agreed.

Ezzi had been left behind in favor of the school’s mounts. They were a desert-native species known as the vryska. The vryska seemed to be a cross between a lizard and a bird. They walked on two legs ending in three toed feet, tipped with curved claws. Their legs were thick—even if Alinora wrapped both hands around the thinnest part, her fingers wouldn’t touch—and bent backward at the knee. Two smaller arms extended forward, also ending in three digits with curved claws. Their necks were long. Their heads extended into triangular beaks. Thick, scaled fringe curved back from their heads. They were covered in dry scales. When she had asked Rolfe about them, he told her that a females scales were generally brown (like sand) or green (like a cactus), while the males tended to be a deep blue or red.

Alinora sat atop a deep blue vryska. She had been told his name was Vrin. It had taken some time to get used to the way they walked. They were fast—a lot faster than either a da’lia or a horse—and they tended to sway more as well. With each step, she seemed to bounce.

Once she got used to it though, it was kind of fun. She could see the appeal of racing them—a subject that had been brought up as they’d picked their mounts.

Apparently, Kato was a big fan of the vryska races. His father had taken him to one as a boy, and he had been enamored of them since. However, his experience after that had been limited to races staged with other children.

Flynn had crept into one when he was traveling—Alinora didn’t ask—and had watched. It had been interesting, but he wasn’t as into it as Kato. Sudi wasn’t a fan of races in general—something about them being loud, obnoxious, and generally pointless. Kato had then pointed out he felt like that about most spectator sports, to which Sudi hadn’t denied.

Oswick hadn’t commented for obvious reasons, and Elan had stared off into space.

Alinora had simply said that she had never even seen a vryska before coming to Verdani, let alone a vryska race. Kato had stared at her dumbfounded until she’d reminded him that Ezzi was the first da’lia he’d seen. He’d flushed and gone back to adjusting his saddle. Which had already been finished for ten minutes beforehand. Flynn had laughed at him.

As they were getting ready, she had noticed that, out of all of them, she had packed the lightest. She had two changes of uniform, her training clothes, her armor, and the clothes she had just bought. A bedroll sat rolled at the top of her bag. Food and canteens rested in the bag with the clothes. She had also brought what was left of her coin. The school had supplied her with a tent, which she kept strapped to the back of the saddle.

Once they had finally gotten started, Ellis and Rolfe had made the executive decision to travel at night. Firstly, because the vryska were nocturnal—they spent the day lazing around in the sun and sleeping and the night hunting… at least in the wild. Secondly, because the desert was cooler at night. As long as they woke up regularly to hydrate, everything would be alright.

Alinora was fine with that. Though she was coming to appreciate the desert heat, she still preferred the chill.

Kato had complained. He had grown up in the desert, and much preferred the heat of the day to the cool of the night.

Sudi didn’t have an opinion either way—or maybe just didn’t want to argue. (Alinora was betting on the latter.)

Flynn and Oswick had been very insistent on traveling at night. Halflings were more susceptible to getting overheated, so it was safer for Flynn to travel at night. And Oswick had grown up in the mountains where it was very cold all year round—the heat made him cranky. In other words, Kato had been overruled.

They walked in a straight line.

Rolfe, Kato, Sudi, Oswick, Flynn, Elan, Alinora, Ellis.

The boys bantered. Ellis or Rolfe would occasionally chime in, but Alinora stayed silent. She focused instead on keeping an eye on the surrounding area. She doubted they would be attacked, but her bestiary had spoken of many dangerous creatures.

There were the desert breed of tunnelers—giant worm-like creatures with rows and rows of teeth that circled its mouth from top to bottom. There were the desert drakes, a smaller, less-intelligent form of a dragon and far less friendly (unless domesticated, which had to start with hatchlings). There were the dunelings, which were a race of tiny creatures that hid out in sand dunes that would bite you in your sleep—which deepened your sleep and kept you from waking—and then devour you alive. There were the mira, who weaved illusionary mirages to lure travelers into their grasp and feed on their life energy.

And…

Well.

There were a lot of things that could harm you in the desert. Those were just the monsters—she hadn’t even mentioned any of the animals yet!

There were a lot of good things in the desert too, just harder to find. Oasis fairies, who would supposedly grant wishes. Nymphs—either of the trees or the water—whose magic guarded their oases and made them safe for travelers to sleep in. There was supposedly a wellspring hidden in the desert—where the magic traveled from the inner core of Eldora to be released into the air, so that even those without the inner talent for magic could wield it… though they were considerably weaker. (Except for Alinora; she was an anomaly.)

And, of course, the desert had its legends. Some whispered of a fountain that could make you eternally young. Others spoke of a well of infinite wishes. An alter in a lost temple that would allow you to communicate directly to a Divine, provided you made an offering. The stories were endless.

Alinora had, perhaps, listened to too many of them. But she had always found tales whispered at taverns interesting… and now that she worked in one, she could listen to them nearly every day. Provided she remembered to work, too.

“You’re awfully quiet tonight, Eramyn,” Ellis said.

Alinora glanced behind her. “Traveling the desert makes me uneasy.”

“You’ve read too many books. I’ve been traveling it for years and I’ve never seen any of the creatures they like to tell horror stories about.” He cocked his head to the side. “Well, I did when I lived in the southwestern desert—but not here.”

Alinora pursed her lips. “Just because it hasn’t happened doesn’t mean it won’t.”

“Maybe. But I’ve got four hundred years of experience that says it’s unlikely.”

“Forgive me, but—I’ll believe it when I see it.”

He snorted amusedly. “You’ll raise through the ranks quickly with that attitude.” He paused. “Or you’ll die quickly.”

Alinora faced forward. “I’ve got a few years left in me yet. I’ll not die simply because of an attitude.”

_Her mind was fogged._

_A sense of unease lingered in the back of her mind—but—_

_—oh, that was nice._

_Her eyelids fluttered shut and a sigh escaped her. Her body tingled pleasantly. “Mm…”_

_When the creature pulled from her mouth, glittering red eyes shining in the shadows, it spoke in a soft, sweet voice—so unlike what should have come from it. “Ali, you’re so pretty, you know that?” Liera’s voice echoed through the small tent. The sweet, lyrical words didn’t match the mouth from which they came—jagged yellow-white teeth with thick strands of drool dripping down a chitinous chin. “I wish we could do this forever—just me and you and the starry sky. Wouldn’t that be nice?”_

_For a moment, the vision wavered, and there she was—Liera, in all her glory. Soft black hair cascading down her shoulders; half out of her braid. Glinting green eyes. Soft, plush lips. Dark olive skin. Beautiful._

_Alinora smiled up at her. “That would be nice.”_

_Liera giggled. Hot breath washed across Alinora’s face. Her eyes flew open; her body stuttered forward as a pleasured moan was ripped from her throat. Liera’s sweet laughter changed into something darker—a sinister sound. The image of Alinora’s beautiful beloved was torn to dust; the dripping maw of the creature unhinging until it was wide enough to swallow her whole. Her vision was consumed by red; wet air washed over her. She didn’t even have time to scream._

Alinora shot up. Sweat soaked her skin and tears coated her face. Pleasure sang through her body and her stomach lurched in warning. She barely made it out of the tent before she heaved. She fell to her hands and knees—nearly faceplanting into the vomit that spewed from her lips. Her eyes and nose burned. Her body jerked violently—it was all she could do to hold herself up. Between the crying and the puking she could barely breathe. Her mind was hazy.

She didn’t know how long she lay crumpled there, but eventually, a strong arm wound around her shoulders. It steadied her. The hand gently rubbed her shoulder. A baritone voice spoke soothing words near her ear. She couldn’t grasp what he was saying but—the tone was relaxing.

She heaved until there was nothing left for her stomach to void. She lifted a hand to swipe away her tears. She ached from head to toe. Her eyes were puffy and swollen; her nose was dripping. The vomiting had left her _exhausted_.

“Jezebel, are you alright?” Rolfe’s voice broke through the haze she had fallen into. Abruptly, she was aware of the body she was leaning into; the arm wrapped around her shoulders.

Hyperaware, she jerked away from the contact—putting at least a foot between them. The boys had come out of their tents. They had huddled around Rolfe’s other side; watching her with concern written all over their faces. Alinora swallowed; her jaw tensed.

“Jezebel,” Rolfe repeated. Alinora’s attention snapped back to him. Her heart raced through her chest. Her blood raced in her veins. “Are you alright?”

She opened her mouth to answer, but found she couldn’t. Instead; she sucked in a deep breath and let it out, slow. Then, she said, “I’m fine. It was just a nightmare.”

“I ain’t never seen a nightmare make a person barf,” Kato said, eloquent as always.

Alinora shrugged. “Don’t you know that elves have more vivid dreams than the other races? That’s why they meditate instead of sleeping.”

“But you’re a half-elf,” Oswick pointed out.

“Observant,” she said dryly. “But unfortunately, vivid dreams is one of the traits my mother passed to me. And thanks to my father, I can’t get away with meditating all the time. I need at least two hours of actual _sleep_ each night.”

“Speaking as an elf…normally we don’t have nightmares. Just… really vivid dreams that unsettle us and might be slightly prophetic.” Elan was awake and present, it seemed.

“Again—human father. I get nightmares. It’s great.”

“Yeah, but…. I grew up around lots of half-elves. They all either had human sleep patterns or elven sleep patterns, not both.”

“You’re a valley elf, right, Elan?”

“Yeah.”

“My mother was an Elanai.”

Elandor stared at her. “You’re joking.”

“I’m not. I’m from Mynera, remember?”

“What’s the big deal about that?” Kato asked, wrinkling his nose.

“Elanai are…well. They can live up to _seven_ thousand years, and they have the most powerful magic out of any elven race. They’re—well. Most elves call them the ‘royal elves’. Even the Solai—that’s sun elves—look up to them—and they even think they’re better than other elves.”

“There’s just one problem for the Elanai,” Alinora said. “It’s very, very difficult for them to get pregnant. They have maybe two kids in their entire lives if they’re lucky. And that meant that they were dying out.”

“So they started mating with humans,” Elan said. “Then, they would still be able to pass on their bloodlines. I forgot Mynera was the kingdom they established when they moved down from the mountains. Their offspring are still considered elves—not half-elves—by other elven races. We call them the Alarai.”

Alinora turned to him. “Really? I never heard that.”

He shrugged. “Well…it’s a pretty common phrase among elven society, but not something we’ve spread yet. No one knows if the Alarai are going to be able to continue the Elanai bloodline.”

“Huh? Why wouldn’t they?” Kato asked.

“Elanai used to keep to themselves. You didn’t hear of half-elves being born from their bloodlines. When two races—like a dwarf and a Sylph—have a kid, sometimes the kid ends up sterile. Unable to produce offspring. Sometimes it depends on the gender of the kid, sometimes it doesn’t. Elanai having half-elven children is something that’s only started happening in the last century or so, so there are only a few cases of their children having children.” Alinora shrugged.

“Oh.”

“Children, as fascinating as this is, we’ve gotten off subject.” Rolfe captured their attention once more. Reminded of why they were standing around in a desert camp at midnight, the boys once again looked at her with concern—and a little guilt.

Alinora glared at Rolfe.

He ignored her with ease. “Jezebel, are you sure you’re alright? If a nightmare is causing you to react so violently, perhaps you should talk—”

“No.”

“It could help—”

“ _No_.”

“Jezebel, at least cons—”

“I said _no_. I don’t want to talk about it—not now, not _ever_.” She glared; her fury was a storm. The boys drew back. “It’s a stupid nightmare—I’ll get over it.” She wouldn’t. Not until Kai’os was dead. But Rolfe didn’t need to know that.

“Alright, alright.” Rolfe put his hands up. “At least answer one question for me. Did this nightmare begin before or after the attack on your home?”

Alinora sucked in a sharp breath. She didn’t like the knowing look in his eyes. He didn’t know _anything_. “After.” She turned on her heel and stalked off. She climbed into her tent and closed the flaps tightly behind her; shrouding herself in darkness. She got back into her bedroll and closed her eyes.

A trance, then. Soothing and dark and dreamless. In the morning, this would all be behind her.


	8. Chapter 8

_If I wanted to be at my best for the tournament, I couldn’t avoid sleeping. Even if I desperately wanted to. Every night, I barely made it out of my tent before throwing up. Rolfe had warned Ellis—or woken him up when it happened—and so he was there each night._

_They tried to help me. I couldn’t appreciate it back then. I was so… concerned with myself, and what I thought was best for me, that… I rebuffed them. Hostilely. Of course, at the time I just told myself it was what was best for them and for me, but honestly—I know better. It’s a wonder they continued to help. I wish I had been able to appreciate it, the way I do now._

_By the time we reached Uhari, my classmates and teachers had decided to drop it. I was grateful. I had enough on my mind without their well-meant interventions. Looking back on it, I don’t wonder if they had some larger plan in the works, but… I’m getting ahead of myself._

_Despite the unpleasant beginnings, however, I look fondly on my time at the Hidden Oasis and its arena. The experience was… thrilling._

_The school was well-managed, unlike ours. The students worked well together; the teachers were cooperative with one another instead of trying to stir up inter-class competitiveness. Not all of the girls got along, I’m sure, but they presented a unified front. All of them had been trained exceptionally well; each one had access to good training materials instead of second-rate ones._

_More than once, I caught Ellis giving our own principal the stink-eye. Sometimes I wonder what came of that. Never did ask. I didn’t think back to my days at school much._

_I caught myself, too, looking around and wishing I had made the journey into the desert and tried out for Hidden Oasis. I would have been more behind in class, but I would have managed it. I was a damn good student when I put my mind to something._

_Anyway. We were all given rooms—each separate rooms in a long hallway. Remnants from when there were more teachers, I believe. We got a short tour of the school and had dinner with our opponents before being given a day to rest up._

_And then the morning came when we were marched out into the arena._

 

The Uhari arena stood in stark relief against the desert sand. It was built of cream colored stone, though sand bled into the dips and crevices of the bricks; washing over the seats and down the stairs. The arena was full of people; men, women, and children who had bought tickets to watch what they believed were two gladiator’s schools holding a competition to test their fighter’s worth… albeit with a twist in the form of subterranean tunnels.

Alinora sat in a small, closed off box. A glass screen, warded against damage and faintly shimmering in the sun, separated her from the arena grounds, where they had the best view of Ylgda Earthshaker facing off against Wesley—better known as the Weasel. One of Harpford’s lackeys and Vernus’s pet.

Ylgda was an orc; green skin, massive underbite, and bulging muscles. She was bald save for a black ponytail. She wore what an orc might consider to be light armor—though, like the glass, it shimmered in the sun. Alinora would guess it was spelled to be silent.

Weasel was a mouse of a boy—everything about him was washed out. His brown hair looked grey in some lights; his skin was pale and the skin around his eyes look bruised. He had a bit of an overbite; two large front teeth he often displayed in a smarmy smile. But… he was clever. He’d lasted twenty minutes against Ylgda despite her having crushed—metaphorically—three of his classmates already.

Of course, if he lost this round, then it was Alinora’s go next… and she wasn’t going to lie. She was _itching_ to get out in the arena. Her blood sang at the sound of the audience’s cheers and the clang of metal against metal. It was everything she hadn’t known she wanted.

She was also ready to test the armor Ellis had bought her. Leather dyed dark, save for the red mask that wrapped around her mouth and nose. Spelled to be silent, and warded against the heat. Supposedly it even negated fire damage. She couldn’t imagine how much the armor had cost—it was obviously customized to her size, and the enchantments? She really didn’t want to think about it.

She’d offered to pay him back for the gift—refusing it entirely had also been on the table, at least until he threatened to take her fingers if she tried to give him any money. She didn’t want to know how he’d react to her rejecting the gift entirely, so she didn’t even bother.

It made her even more determined to win, however. He’d invested in her twice now. Alinora wasn’t about to let him down.

Her weapons came from the school—a pair of twin daggers. She’d been familiarizing herself with them in her spars with Ellis. They were enchanted—once with a shield around them to keep them from doing any actual damage, and once with a trigger that would cause the blade to glow red once a hit was scored.

CLANG!

Alinora started. The gong had been rung—the fight was over. Weasel lay sprawled on the ground; Ylgda standing over him with a smirk on her face.

The headmaster glanced at her from his position by the door. “Eramyn. You’re up. Ylgda Earthshaker is your opponent. Be careful. She’s been known to split skulls on accident.”

He didn’t seem concerned, however; delivering the phrase in his usual deadpan manner. He was unflappable. Serene, always. Alinora could understand why the other teachers avoided him whenever possible.

Alinora stood.

She expected jeering. She was the only one of Rolfe’s students in the box; surrounded entirely by Vernus’s students.

Instead…

“Knock her out for us, Eramyn.”

Even with the protection of the mask, Alinora didn’t let her surprise show. She inclined her head. “I intend to, Harpford.”

Cayne had barely won his fight. He’d gone up against a sylph girl nicknamed Storm. Even for one of her people, she was fast. Ylgda had been his second opponent. It hadn’t even taken her ten minutes to take him out. It… had been rather satisfying to watch.

There was a healer to the left of the hall she’d exited; no more than fifty feet from the arena’s exit. Like most healers, their healing magic was minimal; their trade was supplemented by herbs and potions. True healers were rare. The field required a lot of self-discipline, time, patience, and talent to master and not many were successful.

In addition to potions, the healers also kept up a steady supply of food and water to refresh after a fight if needed.

Alinora stood a foot away from an iron gate; daggers in hands. She rocked back and forth on her heels. Her blood was already racing.

The sun was high in the sky; reflecting off the sand and white stones. She cringed. Even the shadows of the mask weren’t enough to protect her from the harsh light of day. Not for the first time, she wished she was a spellcaster. She grit her teeth, and willed her vision to clear.

Lucky for her, Ylgda was being given a moment to recover from her last fight. Otherwise she’d be in trouble.

(They’d be taking a break for lunch after this fight. She’d swallow her pride and ask Sudi to cast a protective spell over her eyes.)

Nearly ten minutes later, the gong sounded once more. The gates were lowered; trembling and creaking as they slid into the ground. Alinora stepped into the light of day.

She had just enough time to do a cursory scan of her environment before Ylgda was barreling her way; spear drawn and a yell in her throat.

Not very appropriate for an assassin, but wonderful for gladiators.

Alinora dashed to her left. She’d always been faster than normal—perhaps nature’s way of making up for her utter lack of magic in a world infused with it. She slid into the shadows of one of the pillars embedded in the ground. Hand-holds, deliberately placed, climbed up the side. Alinora ignored them.

_Please let it be here, please let it be here, please let it— Ah-hah!_

As she had suspected, due to previous fights, there was a trapdoor. Footsteps thudded her way. Alinora yanked the door open, and dropped in. The trapdoor, weighted, fell shut behind her.

Alinora stood from her crouch and took off again.

She was in a twisted maze of hallways; no way to tell where each one went. At each crossroads, Alinora made a split-second decision. She didn’t pause to obsess over it; didn’t analyze—she just _went_. If she failed, she’d beat herself up over it later. But for now? She wanted to get _lost_.

They might say that the girls hadn’t been allowed in the arena beforehand, but Alinora had her doubts. Sure, it might not have been _authorized_ , but Alinora knew what she would have done—snuck down to the arena anyway, familiarized herself with the layout, and possibly made a map to sell for coin.

They were assassins. Playing fair wasn’t something they _did_.

Ylgda might very well have been one of those girls. So if Alinora didn’t want to be found? She had to get _lost_. The orcish girl would stomp through the hallways and Alinora would wait in the shadows and attack when she didn’t expect it. While the girl recovered, Alinora would dart up to the arena, show off her dagger’s glow, and head off to lunch with her fellows.

Fool-proof.

…she hoped.

 

So here’s the thing about getting lost. It’s kind of hard to find your way out. Especially when you’re not blessed with a perfect memory, or a way to retrace your steps. Alinora made it three turns before she had to stomp around back to the girl and hope Ylgda didn’t stab her and try to claim the kill for herself.

The girl was already on her feet when Alinora came back, and she looked up at Alinora with a grin.

“A clever way to win.” Her words were slow, enunciated clearly but as if she was having some difficulty.

Alinora tipped her head, but said nothing; watching her warily.

Ylgda extended her hand. Alinora hesitated a moment before accepting it; one hand on her non-red dagger. Ylgda passed her hand entirely and went in for her forearm, causing Alinora to jerk in surprise and draw her dagger before remembering that this was how orcs showed respected.

She swallowed, and squeezed back.

Ylgda laughed. “Jumpy one. No matter. Have warning for you.”

Alinora’s brow furrowed. “What?”

Ylgda shrugged. “Mistress Erania wishes you to join us. Sees your roots. Says your blood is strong. She is clever—like you. Might attempt to manipulate.” Trade was not her first tongue—nor were orc mouths made to speak it. Still, she was good. Alinora had met all of three orcs in her life, of which Ylgda was one, and the first two had required a translator. (She’d been fascinated though; their hunting abilities were amazing. She’d begged them to teach her.)

Alinora appraised her. “Why warn me?”

“Could have joined girls from the beginning. Didn’t. Had your reasons. Maybe good, maybe not.” The girl cocked her head. “Should you join, I would be first to fight at your side.” The girl squeezed her forearm once more before letting go. “Strong. Clever. May you continue to impress.”

Alinora smiled. Her mask hid it… but. She smiled. “I wish you the same. The way you took out Arvin… I never would have thought of climbing the pillars.”

Ylgda laughed. “Hah! Used to hunt with pack often.” She gestured to start walking, and the girls made their way through the halls. “Favorite method of hunting was climbing trees and throwing bola. Made prey easier to kill. Don’t expect attacks from above. Same principal.”

Alinora laughed. “Can’t be used too often though.”

It had been a long time since she had laughed so genuinely. It was… nice. Unwanted, but nice.

“No. Ruins the surprise.” Ylgda grinned at her, and Alinora smiled back.

“Shouldn’t take long to get out. Not too far from another exit.”

Yup. Alinora knew the girls had explored this place.

 

“That. Was. Amazing!” Flynn beamed at her; a step away from being entirely too close to her personal space.

Alinora looked down at him. “You didn’t see anything.”

“I dunno… He could have slipped into the tunnels. Halfling magic’s weird.” Kato grinned.

“Mm. I’m pretty sure there are magical words on the trapdoors to keep people out.” Not that they hadn’t been exploited before and wouldn’t be exploited again.

“Yeah. Halfling, Jez, keep up.”

Alinora snorted.

Sudi glanced at her as they walked toward the school. “How did you win?”

She shrugged. “Tactics. Got myself lost, so she’d be lost, and hopefully loud enough for me to hear her coming. I ambushed her. We tousled. I won. Couldn’t make my way back to the surface alone, but she was a good sport about it.”

“Second hit glows blue,” Sudi said.

Ah. Well. Guess there would be a failsafe for cheating, on account of assassins not playing fair and all.

“Oh, I need you to do something for me before Rolfe and Ellis get here,” Alinora said. “Sun’s bright as hell, can I get an enchantment to ward that off?”

“Shit. Should have thought of that before.” Sudi smiled apologetically. “C’mere. Gonna have to put my hand in your face.”

He waved his hand in front of her eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut and fought the urge to rub her eyes. Divines knew how much sand was on her gloves.

“Ugh.”

“Yeah, not comfortable. Lasts 24 hours, though, so you’re fine until tomorrow. Changes in lighting won’t affect you. I’ll work on enchanting a pair of glasses or something tonight.”

“You can enchant things? You’ve been holding out on us.” Kato frowned.

“Glasses are a liability,” Alinora said. “Too easy for them to get punched off my face. Goggles might be better. Still a problem with glass shards though.”

“It’s just minor stuff, Kato, nothing major. Can’t do unbreakable glass or anything. Is the mouthpiece of your mask enchanted at all?”

“Don’t think so.”

“Good. I’ll use that then. Just give it to me after supper tonight.”

“Got it.”

Alinora jumped as a hand came down on her shoulder. She spun on her heel and held a dagger to Ellis’s throat.

Ellis stood there calmly. “That weapon is shielded. Probably should have thrown a punch instead.”

“Doesn’t matter how well it’s shielded, I can still stab it through your gut. Only difference is it won’t have blood on it.”

“Fair. Wanna put it up, lass?”

She sheathed it. “Don’t sneak up on me.”

“Yer jumpier than me, and I’m a seasoned assassin.” Ellis squinted at her. “I wanted to say well done—made a good investment with ye.”

Alinora snorted. “Don’t you usually get money _back_ on investments?”

“Serious about those fingers, lass. Try to pay me back and you’ll lose ‘em.”

“That mean you want me to throw the fights?”

“I’d threaten to take yer tongue for smartassery, but ye’d just threaten to take mine for th’ same.”

“Damn straight.”

He laughed. “Let’s get to lunch. I’m starved.”

“ _You’re_ starved? I just fought my ass off!”

Ellis shrugged. “Spectating takes a lot of energy.”

Kato rolled his eyes. “Whaddya mean Eramyn was a good investment? And what’s this business about fingers?”

Ellis shrugged again. “Bought ‘er the armor. She tried to pay me back, I threatened to take her fingers if she did. All in good fun.”

“Why’d you buy her armor?” Oswick asked; wrinkling his nose.

“’Cause I sponsored her.” Ellis rolled his eyes. “Gotta make sure the headmaster knows I ain’t kiddin’ around when I say someone’s worth goin’ to his stupid school.”

“Wait. _You_ sponsored Jez? I thought Rolfe did!”

Alinora glanced at him. “I thought you knew. Didn’t you think it was weird he was always hanging around and sparring with me after class?”

“Uh, no. He’s Rolfe’s friend. Rolfe, Ellis, and the Crimson Sword have been close friends since their academy days. Thought he was helping Rolfe out.”

“Technically, I was. Sponsored her in hopes of makin’ Rolfe’s life easier. And harder. Kind of a two for one deal.”

“That made no sense.”

“It made perfect sense. She riles ye up, ye complain to Rolfe, annoy the hell out of ‘im, make his life hell. However, she also helps Rolfe train ye, which removes a burden from his shoulders, making his life better. Not complicated.”

“ _You_ asked her to train us? She made us miserable!”

“But ye got better, didn’t ye?”

“I thought you didn’t sponsor anyone, sir,” Sudi said, a puzzled frown on his face.

“I didn’t. But ‘anyone’ doesn’t have the balls to come up and challenge me to a fight in an alleyway, knowing full well what I am.” He leveled Alinora with a stare.

She smirked at him, hood and mask around her neck.

The boys stared at her.

“I told you that there was a reason I got in.”

“Yeah… but… I thought you bought your way in,” Flynn said. “I mean… I assumed that you’d used up all your money getting in and that was why you had none left.”

“Well, you were wrong.” Alinora shrugged.

“The tournament is her test,” Ellis said as they entered the school. The cooling runes on the walls turned the desert hair cool against their skin and Alinora almost melted.

Divines, that felt good.

“Vernus and Nuwyn were against her entry. Rolfe was too, actually. I don’t know how the headmaster felt about it, I just know he accepted her. But if she doesn’t score high enough, she can’t train at Desert’s Edge… and she’ll have to pay off the debt she owes.”

Alinora grimaced. Staying here three years for training was one thing. Staying here because she was the newest kitchen girl was another. She _had_ to do well in this.

“What happens if she passes but we fail?”

Ellis grimaced. “Well, guess I’ll have to become her teacher full-time.”

“You mean, guess you’ll have to stick me in the library with the curriculum appointed books and let me teach myself.”

“No. If I become your solo teacher, you’ll just have to learn out in the field. Like a proper mentor-apprentice duo,” Ellis said. “I was planning on only doing that during the summers, so you could keep helping Rolfe, but I’ll go full-time if Rolfe doesn’t need you.”

Alinora blinked. “That would have been nice to know before.”

“Why? You have plans?”

“…no.”

“Then I don’t see why it matters. It was gonna be a surprise. Just worry about passing yourself. It’ll be great if the others pass, ‘cause Rolfe needs them to, but _you_ don’t. So don’t try to carry them through the competition, got it?”

“Got it.” She smirked a bit. “And here I was thinking that I’d have to join the girls’ school.”

“I thought you didn’t want to,” Sudi said.

Alinora shrugged. “Needs must.”

“What makes you so sure that they’d accept you?” Kato challenged. 

“Uh, other than the fact that I’m damn good at what we do?” Alinora asked, eyebrow raised.

Kato grimaced. “Yes.”

“Apparently a teacher here known as Mistress Erania already wants me here. Earthshaker said she’s planning on trying to woo me into joining because my blood is strong. I’m guessing she’s a high elf.”

“You guessed right,” Ellis said. “Erania and I don’t get along. She collects powerful kids in her classes and uses their connections to rise in the guild.”

“So she’s a power-hungry grub?” Oswick asked.

“Yeah, but that’s not why I don’t like her. I can respect being hungry for power and using your wit and charm to climb the ladder. Thing is, she’s absolutely good enough to climb it herself. She just chooses to make other people do the work for her because she doesn’t want to get her hands dirty. At least when you’re a grub you’re doing it to protect you’re on life. She’s just a coward.”

“Yeah, but what about the whole blood thing? That just sounds creepy. Hexer like, really.”

“Ah. What she means by that is that I’m half-Elenai. Elenai are widely respected among the other elven races. I assume she wants to see how much of their blood is in me.”

“Yeah, but how’d she know that you were an Alarai?”

“It’s obvious.”

“How? All you elves look alike to me.”

Alinora made a very rude gesture at him—one she’d picked up in Verdani, instead of the one she’d learned in Mynera. “The Elenai have very distinctive traits they passed down to their children.”

“Like?”

Alinora tapped the corner of her eye with a gloved finger. “Green is the most common eye color. In my bloodline, it’s tinged with gold. Others have brown, grey, or blue tinges. It varies. Grey is the second most common, and blue is rare.”

She moved her finger to her cheek. “Olive skin tones, tending towards medium to dark shades.”

She touched her ears. “Elenai have the largest and pointiest ears of any elven race. The trait was passed down to their children. It’s impossible to hide them. Luckily they’re not sensitive like the Valai. That’s why most mistake me for a full-blooded elf, and probably why high elves have decided to consider us one.”

She touched her hair. “Hair tends towards black. I only know of one exception. We also tend to have a lot of it. The strands themselves are thicker. We have wavy or curly hair.”

She dropped her hands to her sides. “Full-grown elves also tend to be tall. We’re not willowy like other elves—our males are broad, though not as broad as a human would be at that height, and our females are curvy. We tend to pack weight around our hips, stomach, chest, and thighs.

“When we reach two hundred, our incisors fall out and are replaced by longer, sharper ones that resemble fangs. Our fingers and toes are on the long side, but that could be said of most elves. Sharp features, but again—elf trait.” She shrugged. “I believe that’s all.”

Kato side-eyed her. “Think you missed out on the height.”

Alinora sniffed. “I’m average height for my age, _thank you_. I won’t reach my full height for at least a decade. Comes from being such a long-lived race.”

“ _Sure_.”

Alinora rolled her eyes. “You are such a child.”

 

Somehow, during lunch, Alinora ended up agreeing to have dinner with Erania and her students that night. She wasn’t happy about it, her classmates weren’t happy about it, and Ellis definitely wasn’t happy about it. Rolfe encouraged her to go, however; insisting that building relations could be nothing but good.

Ellis pulled him aside on their way back to the arena, where they split up so that Alinora could go finish the rest of her fights. (She did, in fact, finish the remaining four without being knocked out, much to the delight of her classmates. Oswick finished two; Kato three; and Sudi four. Flynn would be the first fighter the next morning, followed by Elan.)

But until then… it was dinner time.

Erania greeted her at the dining hall doors, where Alinora split with her classmates. Erania was golden skinned, with burnt orange eyes and red hair pulled into an elegant bun, a few strands falling to frame a seemingly delicate face. She had a round, childish face instead of the sharp features Alinora was used to seeing on her kin and cousins.

“I’m so glad you could join us for dinner tonight, Miss Eramyn.” Erania sent her a bright smile.

Alinora lifted the corner of her mouth in response; though there was no emotion behind it. “I as well, Mistress Erania.”

“Let me introduce you to my girls, and then we’ll join the others. I’m sure you’re starved after all that wonderful fighting earlier.”

Alinora inclined her head, and Erania led the way over to where five girls stood.

“This is Brunhilde.”

A gnome. Round face; muscular body. She wore her fighting leathers. Her hair was brown; piled into a bun on her head. She was tanned, and had a cute little mole on her cheek, just below her eye. “A pleasure.” She stuck out her hand, and Alinora shook.

“Cynzia.”

Lunar elf. Pink skin; dark purple hair; silver eyes. Her cheekbones were high and shark, her jaw strong and her chin pointed. She smiled. “I’m delighted to meet you.” Rather than shake hands, she bowed; Alinora returned the gesture.

“Alison.”

Human. Tan, but obviously not from the desert. Blonde hair in a ponytail; brown eyes; sweet smile. Her handshake was firm, strong. “You held your own really well out there, Eramyn.”

“Hulda.”

Dwarf. Looked to be from the same general area as Oswick. Pale skin, pale blonde hair, pale blue eyes. Her vision was focused, clear—not blind, then. “Wish I could have been out there against you today,” she said, grasping Alinora’s forearm tight enough she might have bruised, if not for her armor.

“And you’re familiar with Ylgda.”

Ylgda smiled, grasping Alinora’s forearm more gently than her dwarven companion. “Pleasure.”

“I’m honored to eat with you,” Alinora said.

“Cut the crap,” Hulda said. “You’re here because you want to know if we’re worth ditching the boys for. Spoiler? We are.”

Brunhilde smacked her in the arm. “She’s _here_ because Mistress Erania invited her, Hulda. Don’t be an ass.”

Alinora cleared her throat. “I’m _here_ for three reasons. First of all, Mistress Erania invited me, and I’m curious as to what her students are like. Especially after meeting Ylgda. She was impressive. Second, I want to network. Contacts and allies are invaluable in this business. Third… I do want to get an idea of what this school is like. I’m not into the idea of ditching my classmates and sponsor, but it seems to me like the Hidden Oasis headmaster has her shit in line. Unlike ours.”

Hulda smirked. “Appreciate the honesty, new blood. Let’s go sit. I’m starved.”

Ylgda nodded once. “Yes. Food would be good.”

The dining room wasn’t like the one in Verdani. While that one had several long tables all in a row, this one had multiple tables, each one with six to eight places at them, and chairs were passed around based on where everyone wanted to sit.

There was one table that was filled with food. A giant bowl of yogurt, surrounded by dried fruit, fresh fruit, and nuts; pork loin and chopped potatoes smothered in butter; chicken in pasta coated in oil; and beef, carrots, and green beans in a stew. It smelled delicious and Alinora could feel herself salivating as soon as she walked in the door.

She’d drank the thick mixture the healer had given her when she was done with her fight—drank all of it, despite wanting to put it aside when she was three quarters of the way done—and eaten a handful of nuts and dried fruit a few hours ago. She filed a bowl with yogurt, and dropped nuts, dried and fresh fruit into it.

Then she grabbed a cup and went to a smaller table at one of the ends of the food table. She poured herself a glass of wine, and followed Erania’s girls to the table. She ended up sitting between Brunhilde and Yglda; across from Erania herself.

“I’m so glad you could join us,” Erania said with a smile. “I’ve been anxious to meet you ever since I heard that Rolfe was training an Elenai student. The only thing I have to ask—why are you in his class? I was under the impression that he helped the problem students.”

Alinora smirked. “I was a girl trying to enter what has become an all-male school. Nuwyn only accepts kids from high society and I was disheveled from travel. Vernus is a twit who looks down his nose at everyone else and refused to even entertain the thought of me entering “his” territory. Even Rolfe rejected me. Ellis chose to give me a chance, but doesn’t have his own class. He assigned me to help Rolfe get his class up to par before the end of the school year.”

“Not a task for the fainthearted. Their showing the last two years has been…” Erania paused. “Well. It’s been pathetic, if you don’t mind me being candid. Still. With your skills, I have no doubt you gave them a push. They certainly performed better in the non-magical side of combat.”

Alinora inclined her head. “Thank you. I can’t take all the credit, though. It’s difficult to teach a student who isn’t willing to learn.”

“Who was the most difficult to train?” Brunhilde asked, leaning forward.

Alinora put on a placid smile. “I appreciate your curiosity, but I’m not answering that. You are, after all, still our opponents. Perhaps you could ask me again once the tournament is over.”

Brunhilde laughed. “I should have known you wouldn’t give me the answers so easily.”

Alinora chuckled.

“What are you doing out of Mynera?” Cynzia asked.

“It’s custom for Elenai to take a sort of… pilgrimage where they get out of their home to explore the world. While I had mentors within the Hunters and Huntresses guild, I wanted to have a little bit more of an edge when I ventured out into the great wide world. So I sought out an assassins training grounds.”

“How did you know where to find us?” Erania asked, head tilted curiously.

“Among the Hunters and Huntresses who trained me, there was a man named Yven. We called him Redd, but he was a former member of the Swans. Most people know him as—”

“The Crimson Sword. He was one of your mentors?”

“Yes. It’s thanks to him that I got in.”

“Ellis and Rolfe were always his closest friends…” Erania said. “What was your life like in Mynera?”

Alinora’s hand tightened around her spoon and she willed it to relax. She should have known there would be questions about her homeland. “Wonderful. I spent most of my days training with the Hunters, learning my way around a bow and dagger, with a splash of hand-to-hand from Redd. I had a few friends, but… we’ve gone our separate ways for the moment. We’ll meet again someday.” She put on a smile, but it was one of the most difficult things she had done all day.

“What about lovers?” Alison wiggled her eyebrows and leaned forward with a grin. “Do ya got someone back home waitin’ for ya?”

Alinora’s expression tightened before she could stop it; and she glanced away. Her fingers shook as she lifted her wineglass and took a drink to prevent having to answer.

“Oh, honey,” Erania said sympathetically. “Bad break-up?”

Alinora swallowed. “Something like that,” she said, voice rough. “If you don’t mind, let’s not talk about my homeland. I’d like to hear about yours, instead. How did all of you come to the Hidden Oasis?”

The girls exchanged glances, but didn’t press further. A bit of tension uncoiled from Alinora’s muscles.

Ylgda tapped her fork on the edge of her plate; shaking bits of beef off of it. “Got separated from my herd…”

 

As Alinora left the dining room, she found herself smiling. Her face and stomach hurt, from all the laughing she’d been doing. It had started when Hulda had bet Alison that she could land more nuts in Ylgda’s mouth, and hadn’t really ever ended. It was… a strange feeling.

She felt light-headed with it, actually. It was almost like being drunk. Which meant the hangover would be killer tomorrow, but Alinora couldn’t bring herself to care.

“Have fun with your new friends?” Kato was waiting for her, because of course he was. Most of the other teams had already gone to bed—including her own. Except for Kato.

She frowned at him. “Rolfe told me to network. I networked.”

Kato rolled his eyes. “You tellin’ me all that was fake? I’ve seen your fake smiles, Eramyn, and those were real!”

“Are you jealous?” Her brows knit.

“What— No! But you’re a damn good fighter, and Desert’s Edge doesn’t have enough of those. Especially not in our class. I don’t want you ditchin’ us for these _girls_.”

Alinora scowled. “You know, when you say ‘girls’ like that, I almost think I _should_. You realize I’m female too, right, Kato? I’m not just ‘one of the guys’.”

Kato winced. “Yeah—yeah. You’re right. I’m sorry. I just… Look. You’re one of us now. A student of the Edge. The Hidden Oasis is good. Really good. And the schools ought to be equal. If you stay… we’re a little further to being balanced out.”

Alinora snorted. “What you need is for the headmaster to be replaced.”

Kato grinned. “We could come up with a plan for that, you know. But it’s not going to happen unless you stay.”

Alinora rolled her eyes. “Ellis has put a ton of work into me, Kato. He bought me expensive-ass armor, and stuck his neck out for me when the school would have rejected me. I’m not planning on ditching him, okay? Besides. _I’ve_ put a lot of work into the lot of _you_. I’m not going to let that go to waste either. Relax.”

He fidgeted. “Alright. Well… good. We should head to bed. Big day tomorrow. And even bigger day after that, if everything goes according to plan.”

Alinora snorted. “Exactly. Gentleman first.”

“Not how the saying goes,” Kato said, but obediently went first.

“Really? That’s how I’ve always heard it.”

“You are in a strangely good mood tonight.”

“I know.”

“You’re going to be extra bitchy tomorrow, aren’t you?”

“Probably.”

“Great.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, we are now officially caught up with the FictionPress version! I hope to have Ch. 10 out soon! :D

_As Kato and I predicted, I was even "bitchier" than usual the next day. I was angry with myself. I had spent the last eight months doing everything I could to distance myself from my classmates and mentors. I went out of my way to avoid making friends. And then, suddenly, these girls—these girls who I was competing against, no matter how friendly the spirit of the competition was supposed to be; these girls that had barely known me for a handful of hours—could make me laugh?_

_It just didn't seem right._

_And it didn't seem right to be laughing when I had no idea what my people were going through. I knew, of course, that taking Kai'os down wasn't something I could do quickly. I would have to spend a long time in training and then in research to be able to stop him._

_I shouldn't laughing and enjoying myself when my people were suffering._

_But I had. And I was furious with myself. And so I took it out on everyone else—which only made me angrier. A terrible cycle. Luckily after breakfast we went back to the arena to watch Elan and Flynn's matches—and then Nuwyn's class. I sat a bit away from my classmates to stew while I watched the fights, and by lunch my temper had evened some._

_Elan had struck out in his first match, of course. Without a focus crystal that was pretty much the only option. Flynn, though, won three matches. He'd used a similar tactic to myself; darting through the tunnels. The chaotic nature of halfling magic allowed him to get the drop on his opponent all three fights. The last, however, he fought another halfling, and she had more drive than he did._

_At lunch, I avoided Erania and her students, though I knew I couldn't escape them forever. I was hoping to put off dealing with them until dinner._

_And at dinner Erania did corner me. I was a bit frustrated than both Vernus and Nuwyn's students had outdone our class—it wasn't surprising, but I was still disappointed. You'd think the negativity would have given me the push I needed to refuse her offer… but I found myself sitting with them again._

_We talked shop. Perhaps a bit unwise, but… well. I was intrigued, and they had many stories. Ylgda, in particular, was a font of wisdom. After we spoke of various poisons and methods of killing, we talked about our childhood. I avoided the topic of Liera, but spoke about Chloe freely; the girls spoke of their own childhood friends and shenanigans._

_Once again, I found myself feeling… free. I laughed. Smiled. Grinned. Found myself jostled about as the girls nudged me. Brunhilde ended up near-drunk and half in my lap at one point and I did nothing to push her away._

_I went to bed feeling unnerved._

_Though I had told myself all day that my happiness was an insult to the memory of those I had lost; an insult in the face of my people's suffering… I began to wonder if this wasn't something I needed. Could I truly go years without any sort of joy in my life? Could I eschew companionship; keeping everyone at arm's length forever?_

_People thrive in groups. In companionship. Cities weren't just built to keep away predators and to protect children. There's something about companionship that people need, and I was no exception._

_But was I willing to risk it? My kingdom had fallen because Kai'os had sent shapeshifters to replace key members of society. Liera, my parents… they had fooled me. Could I risk it happening again?_

_I had been lucky the first time. I wouldn't be so lucky again._

_I spent half the night tossing and turning. When I finally did sleep, my usual nightmare was replaced with something different. The shifters starred in it, of course. Erania and her students' skin ripped open as the beasts stepped out of it, laughing. My classmates, Rolfe, and Ellis rescued me—only to turn on me as well; each of them ripped in two as a shifter stepped from them._

_It was almost a fever dream; little of it made sense in the light, but the terror it inspired was real. I didn't throw up, but I was soaked in sweat and my heartbeat was loud enough I was sure they could hear it across the hall._

_The next day was the magic tournament. Though Rianne and I's experiments had proven I could nullify magic, I wasn't sure how well it would play out in a combat scenario. She hadn't been willing to test such a thing, and after the fiasco with my sleeping habits, I wasn't willing to reach out to the boys. This would be my first combat test run._

_Luckily for me, they trusted me when I told them I had a plan for magical combat. Rolfe and Ellis still didn't know that I couldn't use magic… and I wanted to keep it that way for a little while longer._

_In a double stroke of luck, I was also going first again. It meant their worry wouldn't distract them from the fight. And if I won, it would hearten them; make them more confident in their own abilities. Of course, if I lost… not only would they be worried over possible injury, but it could also dishearten them._

_Or pump them up for revenge. Kato was up after me, so it was very possible he would convert that worry into rage—and also be angry at the girl for injuring me._

_In other words:_

_We were all nervous. Me most of all._

Once more, Alinora stood on the other side of the iron gate. Sudi had made good on his promise to enchant her mask. Her eyes adjusted to the sun easily, even as she fought against the natural urge to squint at the brightness of the day. Why was she the one who had to fight just before high noon, again?

She hadn't bothered to draw her daggers. Her palms itched; fingers twitching by her sides. The churning of her stomach drowned out the call for battle in her blood. Her mouth was dry. Her tongue felt heavy and stupid. She felt jittery—flighty. Her heart thudded heavily in her chest; seeming too slow and too fast at the same time.

CLANG.

The gate began to rattle and shudder; sliding into the ground. Alinora didn't let herself hesitate.

She stepped out into the light of day.

Cynzia stood across from her; smiling wickedly. "I'd hoped to be fighting you," she said, as the girls circled each other. "The Elenai are quite gifted with magic."

"They are." Alinora inclined her head. "The Lurai possess their fair share of the gift as well." Specifically, illusionary magicks and water spells. Such came from being favored by the Water spirit.

Cynzia chuckled. "You and I both know that my talent would be nothing against your sires. But I wonder how much of it their children inherited." Though the girl looked calm, Alinora saw a flicker of white-blue energy dancing about her fingertips; half-hidden behind her.

Ice spell.

Alinora gave no indication she had seen it. "You and everyone else, I think."

Alinora had little warning before the girl's arm was in motion. She flung her arm, releasing the ice spell. The wind whistled towards her, crystals on its tail. The blast of cool air was a welcome one in the heat, but that didn't mean she planned on letting it touch her.

Alinora didn't duck as she would have normally. Instead, she extended her arm and focused. She could feel her arm growing cold; goosebumps rose on her flesh and she suppressed a shiver. The spell died in the air—flickering once, and dropping into nothingness.

Cynzia's lips parted; her eyes widened. "You— How?" She shook her head.

Alinora grinned, her heart racing. It had worked! "I'll never tell."

Cynzia's brows knit together. She snapped her mouth shut and grit her teeth. She summoned another spell.

Her right shoulder rolled back slightly; sending a wave of movement down her arm. Her fingers curled around white-blue energy. Her wrist snapped upward and the spell hurtled towards Alinora.

Alinora stepped forward, slicing through it with her palm. She continued the forward movement, dashing towards Cynzia.

 _Time to test part two of the theory_.

Alinora curled her hand into a fist, still nullifying the magic around her hand. She hit Cynzia's shoulder, causing the girl to stumble back. Alinora continued racing forward and spun on her heel. Cynzia spun in kind. Her right shoulder rolled, her arm moved… but no magic gathered at her fingertips.

Her eyes widened. She looked down, shocked, gazing at her hand as if it belonged to someone else. "How— What—"

"Don't worry," Alinora said. "It's temporary." _I hope_. "Now, you wanna surrender, or should I cut off magic to your other arm too?" She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

Cynzia pursed her lips. She looked down at her left arm, considering. She sighed. She lifted her right arm, and gave the judge's box a thumbs down gesture.

Out.

The silence that had fallen over the arena broke. The Desert's Edge students went _wild_ —and around them, their supporters joined in.

Alinora grinned.

Flynn was nearly vibrating in front of her. "How did you _do_ that?!"

"I thought you didn't _have_ magic." Sudi appraised her with wide eyes, his face flushed with excitement.

Kato had his head cocked; observing her shrewdly. "She doesn't." He said, causing Sudi to whirl on him.

"You know how she did it?" Flynn asked.

"Back in Verdani, when you showed us how you couldn't use magic… the magic ran from your hand. The harder you tried to call it, the further it fled. You… You used that, didn't you? To your advantage?"

Alinora couldn't stop herself from grinning. "Yes. When I was researching Elan's condition, I visited the Magus College. I met a girl named Rianne, and I asked her if she'd ever heard of something like that before. I demonstrated. She was fascinated. And… she came up with a theory. Which we tested." Alinora pushed a stray piece of hair away from her face, suppressing a cringe at the sweaty texture. "I'm still a bit heavy handed with it, so I don't expect to win every battle. My goal is three. But it's something I can practice with next year."

"And over this summer," Kato said shrewdly.

"Yes." She found herself smiling at that too.

"When did you have the time to practice it in combat?" Sudi asked. "Between training and your job, I can't imagine you had too many free hours…"

Alinora stiffened. Shit.

Kato's eyes narrowed. "Are you telling me that's the first time you've used it in combat?"

Alinora pursed her lips. "No."

Kato crossed his arms. "Alright. If I were to ask for the truth, would you tell me that you had practiced this in combat before today?"

Alinora's eyes darted away from his. She didn't answer.

Kato growled. "Seriously?! Are you _trying_ to get yourself killed?"

Alinora sniffed. "No." That would be counterproductive to her goal.

"Well, it sure as hell seems like it! You don't— You barely sleep, or trance, or meditate or—or whatever! You barely eat. You work yourself into the ground with training and your job and… everything. And then—And then you go and… Ugh!" He threw his hands up. "That was an ice spell! It could have _seriously_ harmed you. Even _killed_ you. And you didn't even— You didn't even dodge, all because of some stupid theory you didn't even know was going to _work_!" Kato's face was flushed. He was yelling.

Rolfe and Ellis jogged over. "What's goin' on?" Ellis glowered at them. Mainly Kato.

"Kato is accusing Jez of being suicidal," Flynn said.

"What? Why?" Ellis's glower transferred to her. "What'd you do?"

Sudi—the snitch—explained Kato's concerns as concisely as possible. "Two months ago, Jezebel told us that she didn't have any magic. She demonstrated. Magic fled from her hand. When she was researching Elan's predicament, she also did some research on herself. The researcher, a student named Rianne, theorized that she could nullify magic. Jez put that to the test today. Kato is concerned, because it once again displays Jez's lack of concern for her own health."

Alinora rolled her eyes. "For the love of— It wasn't _untested_. Rianne and I did several experiments with it, with spells of varying power. The only difference was that none of them were ever flung at me. It hasn't been tested in _combat_. Until today. Which, yes, was risky, but it paid off!

"I was maybe fifty feet from a qualified healer and the best potions the Swans could buy. Hell, I even have one in my armor right now, that I bought before the battle started. Just in case. I was _prepared_. Regardless of the outcome, I was going to be fine. I _am_ fine. It was successful, it worked, you don't have to harp on it." She scowled at Kato.

"Yeah, but you're just going to do something stupid _again_ ," Kato snarled. "You fight when you're too tired to see straight, you work when your exhausted, you don't eat enough even when you need to. You— You don't take care of yourself!"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "How I live my life is none of your business, Kato."

Kato opened his mouth to reply, but Ellis cut him off.

"Enough. Eramyn, what you did was stupid and reckless. _I_ am your mentor. It was my job to prepare your for this. You should have come to me about your lack of magic, and then again when you found a solution around it. We could have trained for it together."

"Exactly." Rolfe's voice was cold. Stern. "You are her mentor, Ellis. I refrained from introducing magical combat to my students because they still needed help with normal combat. And still do. It won't be until halfway through next year that I can introduce it to their skillset.

"Jezebel had no such problems. _You_ should have introduced magic into your sparring sessions, and you chose not to. The burden doesn't rest solely on her shoulders. Furthermore."

He turned to his students. "You know of Jezebel's reckless nature. You should have come forward. This is not your first year at the academy. You know third year introduces magic to combat. You knew she would have to participate unless given a valid reason not to."

And then he turned to Alinora. "Kato, Sudi, Oswick, Flynn, and Elan care about it. That is why they kept your secret, why they picked up jobs to help you, why they tried so hard to get better in class, and why they are so angry now. As your friends, they do have the right to call you out on your mistakes—just as you had the right to push them to do better in class.

"They worry about you. We all do."

Alinora drew herself up. "Thank you. But I don't need you to worry about me. Any of you. I have everything handled."

"No! You don't!" Kato's hands were balled into fists at his sides.

"Yes. I do." She stared at him coolly.

"You wouldn't even _sleep_ after you _passed out_!" He was breathing hard.

Alinora's hands curled into fists; and she dropped them to her sides. "After what you saw on the way here, _can you blame me_?! Can you blame me for not wanting to go through the _tortures_ my mind puts me through?" She was yelling. She never yelled. She closed her eyes; took a breath. Made a conscious effort to soften her voice. Opened her eyes.

"I didn't want to sleep because I had nightmares. I was willing to trance, but none of you gave me the option. I… appreciate… that you were worried. That you _are_ worried. I appreciate that you care enough to help out… but… I don't want your help." She licked her lips. "None of you _can_ help me. What I have to do, I have to do on my own. But I promise you—I'm not going into these things unprepared.

"I don't have a death wish. I don't. I will do everything I can to prevent that, but I'm not going to avoid risks entirely."

Kato deflated. "It's not _fair_. You… Even though you're a bitch about it, you're always helping us. Sudi's more confident thanks to you. You said you believed in him—believed in us—and… I guess it hit home. You gave me a longer fuse, before my temper blows. Flynn's inspired enough to use his halfling powers to actually fight, instead of sneak snacks from the kitchen and avoid lessons. Oz… No longer has to carry the rest of us on his back.

"You… you could have done that. Carry us on your back, like some… arrogant, haughty bitch. The person I thought you were. But instead… you helped. You made us better. You believed in us. It's not _fair_ that we can't help you."

Alinora hesitated before saying slowly. "None of you needed as much as help as people thought you did. All I needed to do was give you a kick in the ass, and you got there on your own. The difference is… I'm giving myself the kick in the ass I need to get where I need to go. But… just because I don't need or want your help, doesn't mean… I don't want you at my side." She licked her lips. "I don't want to go through this alone."

And that was the truth. A truth she'd been denying for the last three days—no. For the last nine months. She didn't _want_ to be alone. But how could she trust anyone to truly help her? How could she confide her secrets in people when Kai'os could just send a shifter to pluck those secrets from their bodies, and replace them utterly? When his spies could lurk around any corner?

Kato shared glances with the rest of their classmates. "We can do that. But… you've got to promise to stop being so stupid."

A startled laugh escaped her. "Oh, Kato. I make absolutely _no_ promises."

"Yeah," he said glumly. "That's what I thought you were going to say."

Lunch was the same as yesterday's—and the day before that. Lots of fresh fruit, meat, vegetables, and—of course—yogurt. Alinora declined a lunch invitation from Erania, but once again agreed to dinner—causing her classmates and Ellis to scowl.

"Why are you even humoring her?" Ellis asked, glaring over Alinora's shoulder, where Erania had disappeared.

Alinora shrugged. "I don't see the harm. It's building contacts—and the more of those I have after graduation, the better."

"She's trying to steal you away from the school," Kato said, looking offended.

"And after that display earlier, she's going to be trying even harder," Ellis said grimly.

Alinora rolled her eyes. She looked at Ellis. "I have my reasons for wanting to stay Verdani—and you know it. Those reasons outweigh any reason I could have to stay here." She looked at Kato. "And you—I already told you. I don't have any plans to ditch you guys for the Oasis. Not just because I've put so much work into helping you be better, but because I really, really don't want to be this deep in the desert most of the year. I like having access to proper greenery, thanks."

Kato snorted. "Yeah, well. You've seemed pretty cozy with them the past couple of days." He speared a piece of meat a little harder than necessary.

"I can't enjoy myself?"

He pointed his fork at her, meat on the tip of it. " _Don't_ avoid the subject. You laughed. You _never_ laugh. You don't smile, either. But you did."

"Kato, are you jealous?" Alinora raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't we already have this conversation?" He scowled at her. "I'm not _jealous_. You're consorting with the enemy!"

Alinora rubbed her temples. "Didn't we already have _this_ conversation? I'm not 'consorting with the enemy' I'm just… networking."

Kato rolled his eyes. "Would you stop calling it that? Would you _please_ just admit that somehow, this woman has managed to charm you? She's tempting you to leave and you're falling for it!"

"You make it sound like she's seducing me!"

"Jezebel!"

Alinora sighed. "Look. Dinner these past few nights has been enjoyable, yes." It was hard to admit aloud. "But I'm serious when I say that I'm not considering leaving. Is there something enticing about staying? Yes! But just because it's tempting doesn't mean I'm going to follow through on it, alright? I've got my reasons for staying in Verdani, and those outweigh any offer Erania could possibly make me, alright?"

Kato glanced away. "If you say so."

Alinora sighed. Whatever understanding they had come to earlier was obviously gone. She looked down at her food. It seemed so unappetizing. The smell made her stomach turn. She pushed it away. "Anybody want the rest of this?"

"Whaddya got?" Oswick asked around a mouthful of food.

"Beef, carrots, and potatoes."

"Pass it over."

She handed it to him, and drained the rest of her peach juice. "I'm going to meditate out in the hall, regain some energy. Come get me when it's time to head back to the arena."

She left before any of them could respond.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, I took a long break didn't I? Between NaNo and the holidays, I didn't have a lot of time or energy to post. It didn't help that this chapter was missing a LOT of scenes, that I had to write from scratch. But! Now it's done, and I'm happy to share it with you :)
> 
> I'm not super happy with this chapter-it's a lot of fight scenes, and I'm BAD at fight scenes! But the only way to get better is to keep practicing, yes?

_Against my own doubts, I won all five of my fights. But I was utterly exhausted in a way that I hadn’t been since I was a child. I ended up missing the latter half of the day to sleep. Ellis updated me about their progress an hour or so before dinner._

_Kato won two of his fights. Magical combat wasn’t his strong suit. (I wasn’t surprised.) Sudi won four without fanfare; in and out, as quickly as possible. Oswick won all five of his—I was proud to know my suspicions were correct. I just wish I had witnessed it. I did pester Ellis to tell me of it in as much detail as possible. He did not satisfy my curiosity nearly as much as the boys did, the next day._

_I ate dinner with Erania and her class again. We discussed the schools—Ylgda frowning the entire time, even as they all gushed about the wonders of the Oasis. Erania’s schemes were growing more obvious. I wonder if she even cared if I noticed. Perhaps she didn’t—perhaps she just wanted to make me feel welcomed; like I had a place within the Oasis. Whatever her plan, I was more amused than enticed, and so we abandoned that discussion in favor of topics more personal._

_After dinner, I stayed up late again, but not because I was stressing over my sudden desire for personal connection._

_After breakfast, Flynn went out into the arena for his magical combat. Like most halflings, however, practical magic wasn’t his strong suit. He won three fights, regardless._

_Elan went next. The summoning of magic triggered something in him, allowing his mind to clear long enough to win three of his own fights. He was more lucid than I had ever seen him cone lunch. Rolfe coaxed him into casting some spells in the stands—minor bits and baubles. Come dinner, he was even more lucid, and I declined Erania’s invitation to sit with them in favor of getting to know my most mysterious classmate._

_Kato spent the entire dinner looking like the cat who got the cream. I spent the entire dinner wanting to punch the look off of his face. Conveniently, we weren’t seated near each other._

_Our next challenge was to work together against another class. Each of us would be given a colored flag, and told to defend it. Whichever class had the highest overall score—so, not us—got to hide their flag in the tunnels. However, scores were not just determined based on who got the flag… but in how well the teams worked together. Granted, all the students cared about was who got the flag. Which… created some interesting chaos._

_We were given a break day for the arena to be set up properly, but also so we could plan. We were paired with Erania’s class. I sat with them at breakfast this morning, to make up for my missing dinner…_

Erania’s table was the liveliest table in the dining hall. Everyone else seemed only a few seconds away from falling face down into their food. Which, this morning was browned flatcakes; tart red berries that had been half liquidized; eggs; and bacon.

“How’d you get the misfortune of being paired with us?” Alinora dragged a piece of her flatcake through berry juice.

“We draw straws every year,” Alison said. “Short straw has to fight Rolfe’s group. This year, we drew. But…” She smirked. “This year things will actually be interesting. Though… you’re still going to lose.”

Alinora snorted. “Please. I’ve spent almost nine months with these boys. I’ve got them whipped into shape enough to handle the lot of you.” Especially since Rolfe had named her squad leader. “Just wait and see. You’re going down.”

Ylgda laughed. “Such proud spirit! Would fit in well among my tribe.” She grinned. But it looked a bit like the grin a predator gives before it tears your throat open. Alinora bared her teeth in return, and Ylgda through her head back in another laugh. “Haha! Thought of fighting you again makes the blood sing!”

“I know I’m excited. I haven’t gotten to fight you yet.” Brunhilde’s eyes burned fiercely; a grin on her face that would look more at place with blood on her teeth.

“Neither have I,” Alison said, a matching grin on her face.

Alinora sat at a table of wolves, but she had never felt more at home. “I look forward to seeing if your skills are truly as good as your boast,” she said, and hid her own bloodthirsty grin behind a drink of coffee. “I do hope you live up to the reputation you’ve been building.”

“Oh, we’ll show _you_ , Mynerva.” Alison snarled, but the light in her eyes took away its menace.

Cynzia laughed brightly. “You do realize that magic is allowed, in conjunction with training weapons, yes?” she asked. “You can stop one of us—but can you stop us all?”

“Only one way to find out, isn’t there?”

 

Alinora stepped into the training room they had been provided. The walls were covered in cherry wood paneling, but Alinora knew sandstone lurked underneath. The floor, too, was paneled with wood; but in this room, it had been covered with mats. Training dummies lined half of the back and right wall; and there were targets as high as the ceiling. A rack of training weapons adorned part of the left wall. All in all, it was better equipped than their training room at home, and Alinora was looking forward to getting to use it.

“I can’t wait for the day our training room looks like this,” Kato said, hands on his hips.

“You say that like we’re going to get enough points to beat Vernus or Nuwyn,” Sudi said dryly.

“Hey.” Kato whirled on his heel and pointed and Sudi. “It could happen.”

“When did you become Mr. Optimistic?” Oswick asked, crossing his arms. “I thought that was his job.” He jerked his thumb towards Flynn, who was humming a tune while he inspected the daggers.

“Yeah, well. I’ve got a good feeling this year.”

Oswick and Sudi both rolled their eyes, and Alinora took that as the moment to clear her throat and step forward. They all turned toward her, with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

Kato looked rearing for a fight, which could be good or bad. Sudi had his arms crossed, though his head was tilted attentively. Flynn was bouncing in place. Oswick looked bored out of his mind. Elan wasn’t even looking at her; his eyes were trained on the ceiling.

Alinora took a moment to stare at him. “Why is he even allowed to participate in the fights?”

“I have no idea,” Kato said. “I think the headmaster is just a dick, personally.”

That was a fair assessment, and probably the only real reason why Elan was allowed out onto the battlefield. At least Rolfe was looking into getting one of those crystals. Alinora mentally shook her head. Now wasn’t the time.

She walked over to one of the dummies. She grasped the stick that served as its neck and gave a slight tug; finding it lifted easily. She let it drop back down again, and lifted the dummy under its arms, moving it to the opposite corner. “Alright,” she said. “The head is the flag. We’re going to take turns working as offense and defense, and practicing listening together and working cooperatively.”

“Shouldn’t we just practice with whatever positions you’re going to order us into tomorrow?” Kato asked.

“First of all, I don’t know which of you are suited for which position.” That was a lie; she knew damn well who she wanted where. “Second of all, do you really want to give our strategy away to anyone who might decide to come and watch?”

“Anyone caught watching will be disqualified.” Sudi put his hands behind his back.

“Anyone _caught_ watching. Honestly, that sounds like a challenge to me.” Alinora shrugged. “So. We’re not going to use our real strategy, we’re just going to practice working as a team, in various positions. Got it?”

“Whatever,” Oswick said.

Kato shrugged moodily.

Sudi gave her a sharp salute. “Got it.”

Flynn held up both of his thumbs. “On it, boss!”

Elan stared at the ceiling.

“Elan, Flynn, and I will play defense. Oswick, Sudi, and Kato—you’re on offense.”

The six of them assumed their positions, though Flynn and Alinora had to guide Elan to his. Alinora got into a defensive position; bending her knees and planting her feet, her arms spread carefully and her torso bent. Her back was to the training dummy, and she flexed her fingers. Elan stood next to the dummy, blinking dazedly. Flynn stood in front of Elan and the dummy, feet firm and legs shoulder-length apart.

Kato, Oswick, and Sudi huddled together on the other side of the room, whispering among themselves.

“Should we plan ours too?” Flynn asked.

“Our job is a fair bit simpler. I’ll do what I can to dismiss any magic that they throw at us; you do what you can to incapacitate them. As long as it isn’t anything that will keep them from fighting tomorrow. Hopefully any spells thrown around will wake him up,” she jerked her thumb towards Elan, “and give us an edge. Otherwise…” She shrugged. “Just keep them from reaching the dummy, really.”

Flynn saluted her.

The boys spoke for about five more minutes before they finally broke apart and got into a triangular formation. Kato took up the rear; Sudi and Oswick to the right and left, respectively.

Alinora planted her feet more firmly, and watched them with sharp eyes.

Sudi and Oswick charged. Oswick readied a spell; icy mist pooling from his hand. Alinora nullified it before it could hit.

Sudi went for her. Her block was late. She braced for impact—but Flynn had her back. A sharp blow to Sudi’s leg sent him stumbling long enough for Alinora to slip her ankle under his leg and send him sprawling.

Flynn darted over to Oswick. Oswick hit him with a small blast of ice to his feet. He was frozen to the ground. Alinora cursed, and Oswick’s attention darted to her. She nullified another spell.

He bull-rushed her. Alinora stood her ground until the last second. She turned, and punched between his shoulderblades, sending him face first in the ground.

She heard Flynn intake a breath but it wasn’t fast enough before someone’s arm was around her waist.

Kato—How could she forget about Kato?

“Sudi, now!”

Alinora snarled, and shoved her elbow back. The air left him in a wheeze. She turned and shoved him into Sudi, sending them both sprawling. She pirouetted back in front of the dummy; her back almost touching it.

Flynn finished freeing both his legs. He ran to her side. Both of them were breathing hard—but the dummy was safe.

Sudi, Kato, and Oswick all sat up and held their thumbs down. Alinora let out an inaudible sigh. She nearly leaned against the dummy, but stopped herself just in time.

“Nicely done,” she said. “Let’s all take five, catch our breaths—then get back to it. We’re going to switch the teams up. Oswick, Kato, and Elan will watch the dummy—while Flynn, Sudi, and I will be on the offensive.”

The boys groaned.

 

By the time lunch came, they were all sore, grumpy, and not looking at her too kindly at all.

“How’s training going?” Rolfe asked, spearing a piece of meat.

Flynn’s head thumped on the table, Oswick’s following. Kato tilted his head back and groaned, while Sudi simply sighed. Elan turned and looked at Rolfe—looking halfway aware, but not quite there yet. Alinora sat up straighter.

“It’s going well,” she said. “I think I’ve got a good idea of how everyone works together now. After lunch we’ll be trying some new things.”

“Jus’ remember ya only have a day,” Ellis said, mouth half full of bread.

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry. I’m acutely aware of that. I already have a strategy to use—”

“Doesn’t that mean we can stop?” Flynn sounded pleading.

Alinora rolled her eyes again. “No.”

He groaned, and nearly faceplanted into his food, before adjusting his course at the last minute.

“I should have something concrete by dinner,” she said.

Rolfe nodded. “Good.” He eyed the boys with a half-smile; faint amusement in his eyes. “I wish you good fortune.”

Alinora lifted her glass. Across the room, she caught the eyes of Erania’s class. Alison and Brunbilde made taunting faces at her; while Cynzia and Erania smiled serenely and inscrutably. Ylgda, however, raised her mug and gave her a bright, beaming grin.

Alinora very nearly returned it; causing her flush and break away abruptly, downing her drink in one go.

“What’s wrong with you?” Kato asked.

“Eat your food,” she said sharply, instead of answering.

Ellis nearly choked on his bread laughing.

 

After lunch, they went back into their training room. They stretched for a bit, to re-ready their bodies for exercise. Alinora delighted in the movement of her muscles and the slight ache her stretches created. By the end she felt as limber as she had ever been, and her food had settled in her stomach. Her blood was flowing, and she felt more awake, as opposed to the post-food haze.

“Alright.” She clapped her hands together, startling her companions and bringing their attention towards her. “As I said, we’ll be trying something different this time. I want you to fight each other. I want to see which pairs work best.”

“Didn’t you already get that information?” Oswick grumbled.

“Not quite. I got a taste of it, fighting against you, but I didn’t get to really _observe_. So that’s what I want to do now. So, Sudi and Kato, you’ll work together to fight against Oswick and Flynn. Then we’ll take a break, and you’ll switch partners.”

“What about you? Don’t you want to know who you work best with?” Oswick’s tone was challenging.

“I do. And if we have time, we’ll find out. But if we don’t, then I’ll just make my best guess.”

Kato nodded. “Makes sense to me.”

Alinora smiled. “Good. In that case, into position. Start when I give the word.”

Oswick and Flynn took the side facing the door, and Sudi and Oswick were left to put their backs toward it. Alinora sat down on a pile of mats, legs crossed. Elan stood next to her.

“Go!”

Oswick barreled forward like an angered bull, rushing at Kato. Kato didn’t have the time to move before Oswick’s shoulder slammed into his gut and he was pinned against the wall.

Sudi darted for Flynn, only for Flynn to side step him as soon as he was too close to adjust his coarse. Sudi skidded to a stop and turned. Flynn gave him a cheeky smile and a wave.

Kato kicked Oswick in the stomach, causing him to stumble back. He kicked him again in solar plexus, sending him sprawling. Then he knelt down, knee to chest, and pressed his hand against Oswick’s throat. Oswick held his hand up in the thumbs down position, and Kato jumped to his feet.

Sudi darted towards Flynn again, but Flynn darted forward as well, using his small height to wrap his arms around Sudi’s knees; let go; and send Sudi face-planting. Alinora couldn’t keep herself from snorting, causing Sudi to turn his head and glare at her.

Kato slid back into the invisible arena—but didn’t rush Flynn. He stood; feet planted, and waited. Sudi picked himself up, and dusted himself off.

Flynn cocked his head to the side as he looked at Kato, as if to ask, “What are you waiting for?”

Kato’s face remained set in stone.

Sudi cocked his own head to the side, watching them both intently.

Kato didn’t move.

Alinora wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, before Flynn’s face darkened, and he darted forward. Kato, in a mirror of the move that Flynn had pulled on Sudi earlier, side-stepped him. But rather than let him keep running, he reached down and plucked Flynn off the ground. He held him away from his face and body. Flynn squirmed and kicked, but realizing that he couldn’t wiggle his way free.

He let out a little growl—Alinora hadn’t know that halflings could _do_ that—and grabbed Kato’s arm. He pulled himself up with his mouth open and the intent to bite. Sudi slid over and grabbed the halfling by his neck, causing Flynn to glare and—very begrudgingly—hold up a thumbs down.

Kato lowered him to the floor after Sudi let go of his neck. Alinora clapped.

“Well done. Ten minute break, and then Sudi and Flynn against Oswick and Kato!”

“Shouldn’t it be Oswick and Sudi against me and Flynn?” Kato asked. “You’re pairing two heavy hitters against two scrawny ones.”

“Oi! I’ll have you know I’m a very heavy hitter for a halfling.”

“I know you are, buddy, but against us big folk…”

Flynn pouted.

Alinora shrugged. “Maybe. But I want to see how this goes. Both of you have a severe advantage and disadvantage. I want to know if they cancel each other out or not.”

“You’re using us as Guinea pigs.”

“Isn’t that the entire point of today? To experiment until we find what works?” Alinora cocked her head to the side.

Kato scowled. “I guess.”

“Get some water. Sit down. Cool off,” Alinora advised-slash-ordered. “Critique my testing skills at dinner, mm?”

“…you say that like we’re going to have the energy to critique you at dinner.”

She shrugged. “Fine. Breakfast, then.”

“I love how she doesn’t deny that we’re going to be totally worn out tonight,” Flynn said moodily.

“C’mon, Jez, you’ve even made the halfling grumpy,” Kato said. “Can’t you call it done for today?”

Alinora considered. None of them were really used to vigorous training. Rolfe tended not to push them too hard—unlike Alinora, who would train all day, every day if she was allowed and physically capable. Besides… they needed to be in peak condition for tomorrow.

She sighed. “Fine.”

It wasn’t as if it would really make a difference. She already knew what she wanted to do for the next day. She just… wanted to be absolutely sure that it was the best plan; that her assumptions and observations were correct. She rubbed her face. But if it was going to mess with their chances tomorrow… she couldn’t very well have them training all day.

The boys instantly relaxed. “Thanks, Jez,” Kato said warmly.

Alinora waved her hand. “I’m going to keep training for a bit, though.”

The smile slid from Kato’s face and he frowned. “Jez, you’re the best fighter in this room. You really don’t have to train. Why don’t you come check out the town with us?”

Alinora laughed lightly. “Thanks, but no thanks. I won’t train for much longer. If you need me when I get back, I’ll be in the library.”

Kato scrutinized her for a moment. Finally, he said, “Alright. But if you aren’t there… I’m tellin’ Ellis you were bein’ reckless again.”

Alinora rolled her eyes. “That won’t be necessary.”

Kato pointed at her. “See that it isn’t.”

And without further fanfare, they left; tossing out goodbyes and worried looks as they did.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More missing scenes, and most of them were fight scenes. Past-me might be out to get future-me. But Summer Sands is drawing to a close. There's one more part in this arc, but I think it might be a bit before I get it up. A lot more to edit and do with that one, unfortunately. In the meantime, though, I do have another character from this world of mine to introduce to you-several more, really, but this next one is getting a series like this for her ;) Her name is Talitha Jade Lumina-the middle name is important, I promise-and she's a pirate. Or... will be.
> 
> In the meantime, please enjoy! And remember you can find me as [livvywrites](http://livvywrites.tumblr.com/) or [ladycravenheart](https://ladycravenheart.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr. This has also been cross-posted to [FictionPress](https://www.fictionpress.com/s/3312862/11/Summer-Sands). 

_Sleep is difficult on the best of nights, but that night was particularly rough. My nerves were frayed and buzzing; everything was too much. The slide of the sheets against my skin, the creaks of wood, the sound of my own breathing. I… was far more nervous than I had any right to be._

_If there was one thing I was certain of, when it came to this group of boys, it was that they worked well as a team. Solo? Well… they had their flaws, though less of them. But as a team… they had each other’s backs. They would push and shove and fight all damn day—I know, I had to listen to it—but… when it came down to it, they’d do anything for each other._

_The problem was…_

_The girls… they were a unit. I didn’t know how deep those bonds ran—could never be certain… but… they were there, and they troubled me. Because if they were as coherent a team as I believed, then we would have trouble. Because they worked well solo. Which meant they had less flaws to try and cover for. I couldn’t—I couldn’t, I_ can’t _do everything. And scythes, that pains me to admit, now more than ever, but—_

_No._

_I’m reminiscing, not venting, not yet. Not yet._

_I worried for the boys, because the girls were more than a match for them, together and separate. I was good—if there is one thing I have never doubted, it’s that—but I couldn’t cover for everything. And because my nerves were shot, nightmares plagued me. Even worse than usual._

_I tranced for six hours instead of four. I slept for two. I didn’t wake exhausted, but I was sluggish. I exercised—stretches, light jogging—and then ate breakfast. Coffee was provided, and I drank it. Hated every bitter bit of it, but I drank it. (Earned me some odd looks, but I shrugged it off.)_

_And then, when breakfast was over, we went to the stands—though Kato, Flynn, and Oz tried to wheedle our way out of it. Rolfe didn’t budge, and neither did Ellis._

_I… didn’t do so well._

 

It wasn’t even afternoon, but the sun was already burning. It was bright—too bright—and Alinora squinted in the stands, hands tucked into her armpits, arms under her breasts. She was surrounded by the hum of voices; a drone in her ears that made the back of her head buzz and her heart to race in her chest. Her mouth was dry, but she didn’t want to move her hands to grab the wineskin at her hip.

“Wish they’d hurry up and get out here already. I’m fuckin’ bored.” Kato had his arms crossed too, but his wasn’t a protective gesture. The mulish look on his face and slumped posture screamed sullen teenager, despite him being nearly twenty-one to Alinora’s eighteen. Best not to bring that up, though, something told her people’d get fussy about it.

“Too bad we’re not all halflings,” Sudi muttered out of the corner of his mouth. He’d gotten the edge seat, lucky bastard, and had his legs crossed; his knee out over the stairs. His hands were on the seat, his back reclined against Oswick’s knees.

Oz and Kato both scowled.

“Don’t tell me that little dick has disappeared already,” Kato growled. His voice was low, though. Didn’t want to tattle to Rolfe just yet, she guessed.

“’Course he has,” Oswick said. “He’s a little bastard and you know it. He’ll come back with somethin’ good, though. Always does. Hope it’s beer.”

Kato elbowed her, and she curled her lip at him. He didn’t look phased. “Heh, I don’t think Jez’ll be happy with us. ‘Sides, we’ll get plenty to drink at the festival, and no one can tell us off for it. Unless we do somethin’ stupid.”

“That’s always a possibility,” Sudi said mildly. “We barely kept you from pummeling that guy last year, remember?”

“He deserved it.”

“He did, but we were supposed to be blending in.”

“Yeah, ‘cause barfights are so out of the ordinary during the Life festival. C’mon, Sudi. You could’a let me at him, and we’d’ve talked our way out of it, easy.”

“No, we wouldn’t have. We didn’t have Jez then. More likely we’d— _you’d_ —have talked us into twice as much detention.”

That sounded about right, actually. “Don’t get into any barfights this year,” Alinora said, dry. “I’m not going to talk you out of trouble.”

“Even if the guy was talkin’ shit about you?”

“If he’s talking shit about me, I’ll deal with it. Just point me at him.”

Kato snorted. “You’ve been quiet this morning.”

“I’ve never been talkative.”

“Nah, but your face talks.”

“That _is_ where my mouth is.”

She got a sharp elbow to the ribs for her trouble.  “Not what I meant, and you know it. Somethin’ eatin’ you?”

Alinora shook her head. “No.”

Something prodded her in the back. She turned around, causing Kato to splutter as her braid, not in its crown, whipped him in the face. Oswick lowered his foot back to the steps and she glared at him, despite knowing damn well he couldn’t see her.

“That’s a lie and you know it,” Oswick said, staring straight at her. His eyes, sightless, bored into her face and she looked away, spinning back towards the arena.

Movement caught her eye.

“Hush up, all of you,” she said. “The battle’s starting.”

Oswick huffed, and Kato opened his mouth to argue. She paid him back by dislodging one of her arms enough to elbow him in the ribs. She wasn’t as gentle as he was with her, though. He yelped, high pitched. She smirked, all smug satisfaction. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Rolfe glance over and roll his eyes. Ellis didn’t look at all, just sent her a discreet thumbs up that made her grin widen.

‘Course, if he knew why she’d elbowed him he wouldn’t be encouraging it, but, hey. Alinora would take what she could get. She dropped her arms to her sides; hands coming to press against the sun-warmed concrete of the seat, and leaned back; watching the mock battlefield intently.

 

Nuwyn’s group went first, and they were predictably terrible. “Predictably” because like the man himself, his students weren’t known for getting on well with people—including and maybe especially with each other. Their strategy seemed simple. Work towards the same goal, without obstructing or sabotaging each other, but don’t have any clear way of communicating. And thus, they fell apart.

“What’a bunch of losers,” Kato said flatly. “And he says his team’s the best in our level. Right.”

“To be fair, individually, they could take the whole group of us on.” Sudi always sounded like he ought to be adjusting a pair of glasses. “They did win the most collective fights.”

Kato and Oswick grunted, both of them scowling. Flynn offers everyone a bag of popcorn—Alinora doesn’t even try to puzzle out when he reappeared. Instead, she shook her head at the pro-offered back and unclipped her wineskin, taking a large swig.

“That is something,” she agreed. “Nuwyn’s class… aren’t people-persons, that’s for sure. And maybe we should be glad of that.”

Kato snorted. “What, you don’t want to protect us from another group of bloodthirsty young adults?”

“Not particularly.” Her voice was dry as her throat, the words scratched on the edges. “So if you could keep from pissing them off I’d be ever so grateful.”

Kato snorted again. “No promises. This group has a knack for pissing people off.”

“That’s mostly just you and Oswick,” Sudi said. “Flynn doesn’t get seen, I know better, and Elan… just stares off into space.”

“What about her?” He jabs his thumb in Alinora’s direction.

Sudi scoffed. “None of them are worth her time.”

Alinora considered making a quip. _Neither are any of you_. If it were any other day, she might have said it. But today… They need to work as a team. After all the worrying she’s been doing, she won’t sabotage that. Maybe later—when this is all over. When they’re back in Verdani.

She almost reached a hand up to touch her face. What a mess. She should have known that she wouldn’t come out of this clean and free. She slumped down. Verdani seemed a lifetime away. Her chest ached; the stings tied around her heart pulling and pulling, trying to dig themselves in so she couldn’t cut them away.

But she had to. Not just for her sake, but theirs too.

They’d never forgive her for it—she’d never forgive _herself_ for it—but damn if she wasn’t going to do it anyway.

The sun beat down on the back of her neck; sweat pooling around her hairline and in the crevices of her armor. The buzz of voices surrounds her. Her classmates, who had been a wall between her and the crowd in the morning were now just another hum brushing against the fraying edges of her being. She curled her hands into fists, and felt her nails pierce her palm. She’d abandoned her gloves, stuffed them into a pouch or pocket somewhere.

She wanted out—away. To run or maybe hit something. Actually—no. Hitting something sounded pretty damn good.

_Not yet. Soon. Not yet. One more fight, then lunch._

She forced herself to breathe, and counted to five. Exhale. Five again. Rinse, repeat. Her palms and fingers ached, and she uncurled them with an aborted wince. When she looked down, there was red crusting her fingernails; red crescents on her palms.

She got out her gloves, and put them on.

Vernus’s class went in strong. They followed Harpford’s commands like soldiers, but Harpford was overconfident—to the surprise of no one—and it infected his sycophants. They fell, to the cheers of the Hidden Oasis students. Kato had to sit on his hands to keep from joining in, which amused Alinora to no end, though she showed it with only a small smile. (It had him beaming regardless, though. Bright enough that Rolfe had to remind him to put it away and look disappointed lest they get reprimanded for not showing school spirit.)

“Hah! After a performance like that, there’s no way we won’t do better,” Kato crowed. “We might actually get the top score in this one!” He loaded his plate with cold meat and potatoes, ignoring the yogurt and the fruit. He filled his cup with juice.

Flynn filled Oswick’s plate and his own. Oswick got meat and potatoes, like Kato, all mixed together in one big pile. Flynn got a heaping serving of everything, because why not. Sudi took equal portions, and Alinora had yogurt, peaches, and nuts with juice. She could feel Ellis radiating disapproval.

“Don’t count your chicks before they hatch,” Alinora cautioned mildly. He wasn’t off-base at all. After performances like that, they _would_ get the top spot, no doubt about it.

But Alinora didn’t just want to beat Nuwyn and Vernus’s classes. She didn’t just want to rub Cayne Harpford’s face in the fact that they were better than him. She waned to beat _Erania’s_ class. So badly her hands shook with it. It was stupid and it was competitive, but it was the truth—and it reminded her of archery contests with Chloe and racing with Liera, and that was a rabbit hole she didn’t want to fall down.

This place was turning her upside down, and she hated it, but there was nothing she could do to stop it.

“Are you sure you’re alright, Jez?” Kato’s voice was hesitant. “You’ve been off all morning.”

Alinora waved her hand. “Don’t worry about it.” Her voice was warmer than she wanted. “I’m fine.”

“You say that, but absolutely nobody at this table believes you,” Oswick said seriously. “Maybe consider telling the truth?”

Alinora grimaced. She had to give them _something_. Or they’d keep bugging her. Like they always did. She reached up and rubbed her temples. “Nerves.” There we go—that was the temperature she wanted. Cold and clipped. “I didn’t—” Couldn’t admit she didn’t sleep well, Ellis would drag her out of the battlefield in no time and leave Kato in charge. “—think it would affect me so much.” She shrugged. “But it did. Is. I’ll get over it.”

Kato frowned. “Why didn’t you say something earlier?”

Alinora shrugged again. “Didn’t feel like it.”

“We could have helped.”

She sighed. “Kato. Seriously. It’s fine. _I’m_ fine. I have a case of nerves; it’s hardly the worst thing in the world. And,” she said pointedly, “it’s making my hatred of people even worse than normal, so maybe back off a bit before I do something we both regret.”

Kato scowled at her. “Bitch.”

Alinora spooned the rest of her yogurt into her mouth, and then stood. “If you need me, I’ll be in the hall.” _Where it’s quiet._

She didn’t give them time to protest.

CLANG.

The gong rung out, dust lifting as the vibrations echoed through the arena. The iron gates shuddered into the earth. As a group, Alinora and her classmates stepped out into the sun to face off against Ylgda and hers.

Ylgda and Alinora shook hands, Alinora’s heart in her throat, even as it fluttered nervously about her ribs.

“May you fight with honor,” Ylgda said, carefully.

“May the best prevail,” Alinora returned.

They separated. Before the match, a coin had been tossed. The girls had won the right to plant their flag in the tunnels, while Alinora and the boys guarded theirs above ground. It wasn’t the best position to defend, but Alinora would have to make do. When the gong rang again, it would be time to go on offense. For now, they needed to set up a defense.

“Sudi. Kato. Guard the flag,” she ordered.

“What?” Kato looked scandalized. “Guard the flag— You’ve got to be joking. We should be on _offense_. Sudi and I are the best fighters other than you—”

“And that’s why you’re guarding the flag,” she said sharply. “I don’t need good offense right now, I need good _defense_. So get your ass over there and don’t let anyone put their grubby hands on our flag, got it?”

Kato frowned, but he didn’t look mutinous, which was something. “Alright, alright. Got it. Come on, Sudi.”

“And even if you see an opening, you stay where you are!” She snarled at his back.

She turned to the others. “Flynn. The second you see an opening, disappear into the tunnels. Get the flag without their noticing it, if you can. Oswick, magic is permitted, so do your damnedest to engage and keep them busy. I’ll help out where I can, but don’t stick too close to me. I don’t want to fizzle your spells by accident.”

“Got it,” he said.

“Flynn, if I need Elan to run up into the girl’s faces like he does during practice, what do I need to do?”

“Just give him a push.”

“Good.” Elan would be taken out quickly, but he would be a good distraction if need be.

She got into a ready position. A few minutes later, she saw Ylgda, Cynzia, and Alison step out of the tunnels. That left Hulda and Brunhilde inside. It might be tricky for Flynn to slip past the gnome, but Alinora had faith in him.

“Who’re we fighting?” Oswick murmured.

“Ylgda, the orc. Relies more on her bow and spear than magic. Alison, human. Switches evenly between weapons and magic. Cynzia, lunar elf, prefers to fight with magic.” The last few days of dinner and watching them fight had given her a summary of their strengths and weaknesses, and Alinora was going to use every advantage she had.

“I’ll handle the orc, then,” Oswick said firmly. “We can both handle the human. You take the elf.”

Alinora nodded once. “Got it. Good plan.”

The gong sounded again.

Alinora moved, rushing towards Cynzia. Behind her, Oswick moved as well. She didn’t know how he knew where he was going, but she trusted in him. It was a weird feeling.

Cynzia didn’t move; instead, she summoned a spell; she hurtled a blast of ice towards Oswick, but Alinora intercepted it just as Ylgda came barreling into her. She slammed into Alinora’s side, and Alinora barely managed to keep her footing.

Flynn appeared behind Ylgda and kicked her in the shin. She stumbled forward but didn’t fall, turning her head to face him. He grinned up at her.

Alison drew her bow and pulled back the string. An arrow made up of crackling energy appeared, and she aimed. Fired. It missed Oswick by inches. The hair on Alinora’s neck stood up.

“Warning shot!” she called. “None of you are getting by me.” She grinned wickedly.

Alinora grit her teeth. _We’ll see about that_.

She punched Ylgda in the face, causing the girl to stumble back. Alinora darted away from her and towards Cynzia.

Cynzia backed away from Alinora, scowling. “You are not getting close to me this time,” she called. “I know your tricks now.”

Alinora laughed. “We’ll see!”

Cynzia’s image wavered for a moment, and then split into three. A secondary spell followed, stirring the dust and creating a thick fog. Alinora swore, and she laughed.

Illusionary doppelgangers were easy to dispatch—no one had successfully created a physical copy of themselves, though there had been some fuss about a wizard who was able to do so a few years back. (Turned out that the wizard was a triplet, and he and his brothers had enjoyed conning people.) The bright light would cause the illusions to shimmer, like mirages, but the fog…

That was the real problem.

In order to spot the illusions and disable Cynzia’s magic, she had to be able to _find_ Cynzia. Easier said than done. She wished she could rely on Cynzia finding her—but more than likely, she’d be left to fumble around, blind, in the fog while her classmates struggled. No thanks.

Of course…

She looked down at her hands. Flexed them. Her palm twinged from the marks she had left earlier, but she ignored it. Could she dispel an area of effect? It was a lot of energy to burn, energy that she’d need to neutralize Cynzia, but…

_Don’t bother. Find your way out of the fog. Pick a direction, walk it. Wait her out._ A pause. _And hope it doesn’t move with her_.

It was a better course of action than any of the other’s she’d come up with. Might as well go with it.

Alinora set her jaw, and started walking.

 

“We won!” Kato’s laugh was bright and honest. “We did it! We _won_!” He beamed at Alinora; his eyes bright. “I can’t believe it!”

Flynn sidled up to her in his quiet, sudden way that Alinora was finally starting to grow used to. “We couldn’t have done it without you, Jez!” He looked up at her, face open and honest. Alinora was struck, abruptly, by the reason the name for halfling in elvish translated to ‘the eternal children’.

Oswick clapped her on the back, appearing just as suddenly as Flynn had. “Thanks, Eramyn.”

Sudi was a jittery mess beside Kato. His eyes were wide when he looked at her. “Am I dreaming right now? Please tell me I’m not dreaming. Somebody pinch me.”

Even Elan looked more aware than usual. He smiled dreamily at Alinora, eyes glazed. Alinora wasn’t sure if it was the creepiest or sweetest thing she’d ever seen him do.

“Flynn’s right,” Kato said, drawing her attention to him once more. “We couldn’t have done it without you.”

Rolfe and Ellis approached.

“Great job, kids!” Ellis’s voice was boisterous. “Excellent teamwork. I knew you had it in you!”

“Yes,” Rolfe said, far more sedately—though no less pleased. “You worked very well out there.”

“Aw, it was nothin’. Jez did most of the work.”

“Flynn got the flag,” Alinora heard herself say. She felt strangely distant.

Mistress Erania led her students over. Ylgda grinned at them, wide and toothy and slightly terrifying. “Excellent battle! Hope to fight you again next year. Fought far better than anticipated.” She looked at Alinora. “Excellent leadership!”

Brunhilde smiled. “Excellent use of strategy! I admit, I wouldn’t have expected you to use—Elan, was it?—at all! And I didn’t even notice the halfling missing!”

Cynzia’s smile was small, but no less genuine. “The halflings’ ability to use the wild magic to their whims without even realizing it is something that has puzzled elves for years. I am glad to see that you recognize the opportunity for what it was and wielded it wisely.”

Alinora nodded her head. “Thank you. You all fought well. There were many moments where I felt our victory was in doubt.”

The girls’ team shook hand with Alinora’s, offering congratulations. When it was done, Mistress Erania stepped away from Rolfe. “Jezebel.”

“Yes?”

“Have you given any more thought to my offer?”

Alinora paused. It was quiet. The air was still. Tense. She shifted her weight between her feet. This was it—time was up. “I… Yes. I’ve thought about it. And… as tempting as the offer is, I’m going to have to decline.”

Erania’s face fell slightly. “I see. Well.” She inclined her head. “I hope to see you next year, Miss Eramyn. May you continue to impress.” She turned and walked away, her students trailing behind her.

Around her, the boys cheered.

Alinora smiled weakly. That strange distance had yet to leave her.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there's going to be an epilogue. Is anyone surprised? No? I didn't think so. It's gonna be in Kato's POV, and it's going to be pretty short compared to the rest of this.
> 
> Lucky for me—and you—this chapter required minimal editing. Looking back at it, there's so much I could add to it. So many scenes that could fill it up and make it fatter. Maybe one day I'll come back and do it :P But for now, this is what I've got.

_The tournament was over, and I couldn’t have been more relieved. My thirst for violence had only grown, the more time I spent at the school and in the tournament, but I couldn’t deal with the crowds. Our time at the Hidden Oasis was not yet done, however—the other three teachers still had tests and trials to put their students through. At nighttime, of course, because they were being given real assassins’ tests. Ours were an excellent example of what we could do… but more for earning money to keep the schools going, honestly._

_The tournament being over didn’t mean we got to relax, either. We were to attend the life festival, out of our school uniforms, and blend in with the crowd. Just travelers, here to enjoy the spectacle. We each had a small list of items we needed to procure, as well, without being noticed, and without paying for them. Standard tests of stealth, really._

_I’m still not sure what would happen if anyone was caught. I never did ask._

_Regardless of it being another test, most seemed to take it as an excuse to let loose and have a little fun. Play games, eat festival food, and dance the stress away. A year ago, I would have been doing the same thing. Drinking wine until my head fogged up and my fingers tingled; dancing myself dizzy by a bonfire, under the stars; swaying close to Liera. Laughing with my friends. Singing my heart out alongside the bards. Delighting in the magical displays of performers._

_I had always loved festivals—particularly the festival of Life. The Myneran countryside would light up with bonfires, each one with its own minstrel. The city would be strung up with lanterns and bits of colored cloth; booths that sold food and merchandise. There would be feasting tables in the main plaza, near the stairs leading to the castle, and improvised stages for performers. I spent evenings wandering through the city, arm-in-arm with Chloe or Liera, and nights at the bonfires, dancing and drinking. It was— It was one of the very few times that we were all free of responsibility. Chloe didn’t need to be my bodyguard; Liera didn’t need to be nobility; and I didn’t need to act like a perfectly poised princess._

_But—_

_There would be no such letting go at this festival. No such cheer, not from me. All I could do was look around and think about what I lost… instead of what I had._

 

It was a beautiful night. The sky was a tapestry of bright multicolored stars against auroras of navy blue, deep crimson, and midnight purple. Chiti and Ventura, the twins, were both half full. Chiti was waning towards a new moon; Ventura waxing towards a full. The smallest moon, Fortune, was full.

Fortune being full during the life festival meant that the wild magic would be strong tonight. Those with high sensitivity would be able to see it. Alinora wished she could. Liera said it was beautiful—multicolored waves dancing above the ground, with glittering pieces like specks of stardust.

The festival itself was in full swing. Booths had been set up. They sold masks, statuettes, glass figurines, vials of glittering sand, cloth dolls, and who knew what else. Vendors shouted about their wares; seemingly in a competition with the game masters as to who could be the loudest. Some of the games required magic to play—contests to see who’s lightning blast could create the most glass from a bucket of sand. (The vendors in that stall looked half crazed; their hair standing on end and singes on their skin.) There were dunking booths and archery tests; dagger throwing booths and tests of strength. Fruit-bobbing, balancing contests, eating contests…

The smell of festival food filled the air—sweet pastries covered in sticky glaze, candied peaches, sweet-spicy sticks, fried dough, meat-on-a-stick, dried meat…

People wore all manner of bright clothing. Oranges and reds and yellows were the most dominant colors, but Alinora had also seen deep purples, rippling blues, and vivid greens. One girl—a visiting sylph with iridescent wings—had worn pink. Opulent robes and elaborate dresses were everywhere—this was obviously a chance for people to show off.

Thick cloth lines held up lanterns filled with multicolored magelights. Between the lanterns, banners with each element’s symbol hung across the line. In the center of each line, a large banner containing the symbol of life—the World Tree—hung.

The city had gone all out. People from across the desert and beyond had gathered here to celebrate the creation of Eldora. The streets were packed.

Alinora felt oddly vulnerable in the crowd. She wore the white dress. The bodice was tight; the skirt loose and free, swirling about her ankles. The shoes pinched her toes. The ring Liera had given her felt heavy on her finger. She longed for a pair of gloves—for longer sleeves. Her hair was down, though a ribbon (borrowed from one of Erania’s students) pulled it back from her face. She felt… girlish. Young.

It was strange.

While the others indulged, Alinora avoided the alcohol. No wine or whiskey for her, thanks. She wanted clarity of mind, and she didn’t trust herself to only drink one.

“You’re quiet.” Kato sidled up next to her, a cup in his hand.

She shrugged.

“Not having fun?”

“No—it’s not that. I just… I don’t know. I feel strange.” She picked at her skirt.

“Nervous about tomorrow?”

She shrugged.

Kato sighed. He offered her the drink. “Maybe this’ll help.”

She wrinkled her nose. “No thanks.”

“Not a fan of alcohol?”

“Not a fan of getting drunk.”

She didn’t say that once, she’d have taken it from him and downed it one gulp. She didn’t say that ever since she was fifteen, she would drink until her fingertips were tingling and her head was clouded, because it made the singing and the dancing of festivals more fun. She didn’t say it, but she _remembered_. And there was a part of her that was tempted to do it now, too.

Kato shrugged. “Suit yourself. Try not to mope all night, though, or Flynn will take it as his personal responsibility to make sure you have at least a _little_ fun.”

She snorted.

“You laugh, but you know he will.”

She shook her head. “Oh, I know. But he’ll have to find me first.”

Kato narrowed his eyes. “Don’t challenge him. It won’t end well. We’re supposed to stay inconspicuous—just travelers enjoying the festival. And if _you_ get us arrested, then I think Rolfe might clean give up.”

Alinora snorted. “I really don’t think he’s relying on me that much, Kato. But I’d rather avoid Ellis’s shouting, if it’s all the same to you.”

They both remained silent for a moment; Kato shifting from foot to foot, passing his cup between his hands. Kato cleared his throat, and Alinora’s heart leapt to her tongue. He wasn’t going to ask her to dance—was he?

Instead, he clapped her on the shoulder. “Well, I’m going to go make sure nobody’s getting into trouble.” He meandered away, blending in with the crowd nearly effortlessly.

Alinora leaned against the wall, heart thudding painfully in her chest. She wasn’t disappointed. She _wasn’t_. She looked back up at the stars, obscured by the haze of lights around her. _What am I going to do?_ Every day she got more attached to this group of misfits. But… staying was out of the question. It would only be worse here.

Besides, she began her studies with Rolfe and his misfits, with Ellis’s generosity. She ought to finish it with them. She sighed, and bowed her head, touching her fingers to her forehead.

She wished she’d never come to Uhari—to _Verdani_ —at all.

The hair on the back of her neck prickled, and she lifted her head. She felt—odd. Twitchy. Her gaze bounced through the crowd. She analyzed everyone, as if they could be a threat. Her fingers jumped. She had to consciously remind herself not to reach for her dagger.

There was no threat here.

Alinora pushed herself off the wall and started weaving through the crowds. The skin on the back of her neck prickled. She felt… watched. _It’s a test to see how you perform, of_ course _you’re going to feel watched._ Her own arguments weren’t enough to convince her. They never were—even when she was right.

The prickling feeling didn’t abate. Goosebumps prickled down her arms. The hair on the back of her neck rose. _I just… need to be sure_. She kept walking, until the crowds began to thin out and the music of the festival began to fade. She turned down an alleyway, and touched the summoning rune she had painstakingly etched into a bracelet—one of the few types of magic she _could_ use.

Her dagger appeared in her hand. She grasped the hilt firmly and turned, making sure to hide it behind her skirt.

“Should have known I couldn’t fool you.” It was Flynn. “Sorry if I scared ya. I just noticed you weren’t havin’ a very good time, ya know? Wanted to help.”

Alinora almost relaxed. Almost. But… something… something felt off.

She shrugged. “When do I ever have a good time?” she asked, rolling her eyes. “I’m the resident killjoy, remember?”

Flynn laughed. “Hah, that’s true. Guess I should apologize for that, huh?” he lifted his hand to scratch the back of his head.

Alinora narrowed her eyes. “You’re not Flynn.”

“Oh, c’mon Ali. Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Flynn—none of them—have ever called me the resident killjoy.” They’d have used far fouler words. And had. “Flynn doesn’t scratch the back of his head when he’s awkward or nervous. Your speech doesn’t sound like him at all… and as far as he’s concerned, my name is Jezebel Eramyn. If you’re going to try and imitate him, at least get you facts straight.”

Not-Flynn narrowed his eyes. “Hmph.” His mouthed opened grotesquely wide, until it seemed to take up his entire face. A great plume of black smoke spilled off his tongue. His legs took on a scorched, blackened look; orange embers flickering at the sides. The scorching spread, until there was nothing left but smoke; not even a hint of ash on the ground. The smoke churned. Red light pulsed in the center. And then it began to take shape, and solidify.

Alinora knew she could have run. She had ample time, while the Sha’roth was forming. But she didn’t. She took up a fighters stance, and used her other bracelet to summon a second dagger. She swallowed, and was glad she had chosen an alleyway with an exit on both sides instead of a dead end.

It finished forming. It was smaller than the one she had fed to the Dothraini… but no less dangerous. It stepped forward, menacingly. “You have evaded us for too long.”

“Why track me down?” If it was as talkative as the last one, she was going to get as much information as she could out of it. “I can’t even use magic, for Aisling’s sake!” Aisling. It had been a while, since she had referred to Hope by the name her people used. “I’m useless to you.”

The Sha’roth laughed. It was the laugh that haunted her dreams; filled with a thousand echoes of people and animals whose forms it had stolen. “If only you knew. You have something, Lady Mynerva, that we want. And if I have to take it from you the hard way… then I will.” It smiled; a frightening display of teeth. “Make this easy on yourself. Come home with me. Meet my master. Learn the truth.”

Alinora swallowed. “Tempting.” She flicked her wrist, and the creature stumbled back; looking down at the hilt sticking out of its chest in shock.

She couldn’t run. Not without leading it through the city. Maybe if the guards were rallied—if the assassins fought—maybe they could take it down together. But there was no guarantee. What she _knew_ would happen was casualties. Children. Innocents.

She couldn’t—if she could prevent it…

Alinora steeled herself. She pressed the rune again. Her dagger disappeared and reappeared in her palm. She took a fighting stance. “Your brother was a hell of a lot bigger than you are. I beat him. What makes you think I can’t take you?” She drew up her chin, and hoped that the waver in her voice wasn’t as audible to it as it was to her.

The creature grinned. “Because _I’m_ smarter.”

It launched itself forward; a blur of black and red, faster than anything she had ever seen. She barely managed to roll away.

She jumped to her feet and whirled, just in time to catch its claws against her dagger. She flicked them aside, the creature stumbling at the move, and stabbed a new hole in its middle. Purplish blood gushed over her hand and she grimaced, jerking back, daggers in hands.

The creature snarled, pain and anger, and lashed out. Alinora spun away, her daggers held defensively over her chest and stomach.

“Little bitch,” it hissed.

She bared her teeth at it.

It launched itself at her again. No time to duck away, but she tried anyway. Its claws caught her back, tearing her dress. Blood soaked her skin. The ribbon fell from her hair, and it fell, framing her face and obscuring her vision.

For a moment, they were both still. Her breath was harsh and ragged in the silence; each breath causing her to wince. Then, she launched herself forward.

She pounced on the creature, surprising it enough to knock it to the ground. She lifted her hand above her head and drove the dagger deep into its shoulder, until the blade struck the ground on the other side. The screech it let out was unholy.

No one came running at the sound, but Alinora wasn’t expecting them to. She didn’t _want_ them to.

It swiped at her face, catching and throwing her off. She slammed against the wall. The breath rushed from her lungs. Pain sent shockwaves through her body. She couldn’t move—couldn’t think—couldn’t _breathe_. Blood ran down her face.

Her vision blurred around the edges. Dark spots danced before her eyes.

_Not. Yet._

She opened her mouth—and air came rushing in. She pushed herself to her feet.

A multitude of eyes stared at her; each one glinting with malice. She gripped her remaining dagger tightly. Her chest heaved. She was in so much pain. She couldn’t—she couldn’t move—

No.

She could.

And she would.

“Enough of this,” it hissed. “We know how this will end. You cannot hope to win.”

Alinora drew her chin up. “I will not roll over and die.”

It snarled. “So be it.” It launched itself at her again—and she side-stepped. The creature thudded against the wall with a sickening crunch.

 _Smarter. Right_.

Even her thoughts were breathless.

It stumbled back and grasped its head. Alinora jumped on its back, and it jerked in surprise. She took her second dagger, and drove it through the back of its neck. Blood spurted in her face; getting in her mouth and eyes. It’s whole body seized up. It twitched. Once. Twice.

And then it crumpled. Alinora went crashing to the ground as the thing shattered in to a thousand little pieces of dust. Pain rocketed up her knees. Her daggers glittered to the ground in front of her. Silvery dust, all that remained of the Sha’roth, coated her hands and legs.

Alinora slumped. Her heart thundered in her ears, matched only by the harsh, ragged sound of her breath. Blood was sticky on her hands; her face; her back. She couldn’t move without her limbs throbbing and she was more exhausted than she had ever been.

But—

She had won. Without the help of a Dothraini; without resorting to trickery. She hadn’t run—and she had _won_.

She laughed. Breathless and half-maniacal.

She didn’t know how long she sat there, on her knees surrounded by the dust of the shapeshifter. She must have looked a mess. Her hair was wild. Her dress was torn and dirty; blood and dust stained. Her daggers were still wet with purple-black blood. And—she was laughing.

A madwoman. That was what she was. But she was _alive_. Mad, but alive.

 

Alinora didn’t move for what felt like an eternity—but for what also felt like only a few seconds. She knew it couldn’t have been too long, because no one had stumbled upon her; there were no screams in the distance, no questioning guards at her side, no prison cell waiting in her immediate future.

But it was a while. She was no longer just sore but stiff as well. But she climbed to her knees anyway. She double tapped a different part of her bracelets and sent her daggers rushing to her rooms. She leaned against the wall, and braced her forehead against the sandstone.

She wished she had thought to get a summoning rune for her cloak. She sighed, and pushed away from the wall.

Slipping out of the city without being noticed wasn’t easy, but Alinora managed. People were far too absorbed in the goings-on deeper in the city then they were a dirty straggler on the edges of it. The few people who were on the edge of the city had fallen a little too deeply into their bottles and were either too out of it to notice her—or passed out on the ground.

It was a thirty-minute trip to the school. There, she slipped up the stairs as quickly as she could. The few servants about were too absorbed in their tasks to notice her, and all of the teachers were out. Students too.

In the safety of her room, she found the belt to her armor. Her fingers were slow and stupid, but she eventually managed to open the right pouch. Inside were two vials of crimson liquid. But she only needed one. She picked it up, removed the cork, and knocked it back.

Her face twisted. The health potion was bitter on her tongue. She looked at the vial balefully. She had forgotten how disgusting these things were. She dropped the empty vial back in the pouch and sealed it, before pulling out her pack and digging out the medical supplies at the bottom. They were one of the few things she had left, from the trip she had went on with “Liera.”

She carefully stripped out of her dress; biting back cries of pain the entire time. The fabric had stuck into her cuts, but it had to get out of them, or she’d be in more trouble later. When the fabric was pooled on the ground, she opened the medical kit.

Face wound first. It was easier to clean.

The health potion had already started its work; the pain ebbing and the bleeding beginning to staunch. She pulled her hair up and into a messy bun.

Just the effort of lifting her arms above her head sent waves of pain down her torso. She grit her teeth against the pain, securing it tightly enough that it wouldn’t fall, and nearly slumped over when she dropped her arms again. She smeared healing salve on her face, liberal with its application.

It burned, but mildly. Nothing she couldn’t handle. Her breathing stayed measured and even—though not without a lot of willpower on her part.

She smeared as much of it on her back as she could; nearly emptying out the jar in the process. She was sure there were large spots on her back that she had missed—but there was nothing she could do about it.

When the salve was dry, she unrolled her bandages. She smeared more salve on them, wrapped them around her, and bound them tight.

When that was done, she peered at her face in the mirror. She couldn’t bandage the cuts without covering her whole face—the creature had cut three bold red lines from her eyebrow to her jaw. It narrowly missed taking out her eye.

Alinora had never been particularly vain. She was pretty—she’d never doubted that. (She’d been told enough times, after all.) But she didn’t care. Much as she like that she was pretty, it wasn’t her most important attribute. Still… the sooner the wound faded into a scar, the better.

And not just for her own sake. A giant red wound on her face would attract all kinds of attention. Attention she didn’t want. At all.

Alinora slowly dressed in her armor, hating every second that her injuries cost her. She braided her hair into its usual crown, and pulled her hood up. She pulled the mask over her mouth and nose, strapped her daggers at her hips, put a bow and quiver on her back, and packed up the rest of her things.

She left only a pile of trinkets on her bed—the ones on her list to steal. She hadn’t gotten all of them… but it didn’t matter.

A mask; an uneaten desert peach; three gold coins with a hole in the top; and the winning card from a gamblers table. (She had a fourth coin, and a cloth doll as well—but those… She was going to keep those, stupid as it was.)

She checked thrice to make sure she had collected all her things; that her room was clean and empty as possible. Then she walked out the door.

It had been a foolish hope, to think that the shifters wouldn’t look for her. That she could disappear so easily as that, after causing one of their own to go missing, and evading their capture. That was one of several, she was sure—and if she stayed, her classmates and teachers would be in danger.

They were already in danger, simply by virtue of knowing her. But if she left now…

If she left now, if she made a name for herself in other parts of the world, the shifters would follow. They wouldn’t come here.

A reach, perhaps, but it was all that Alinora could do.

She shouldered her pack despite the pain in her back and slipped back downstairs. She took one of the small travel barrels of water and headed out to the stables. She strapped it on the vryska’s back. She led him out of the stables. The second they had cleared the gate, she shut it behind her and swung onto his back.

She urged him forward, and let him run. She didn’t look back.

 

“Hey. Anyone seen Jez?” Kato’d finished collecting all of his items, tucked securely in the bag on his pack. His fingers were sticky with juice and his head buzzed with wine. The others had gathered around them, in the meeting spot they’d agreed upon. But Jezebel was absent. He almost sighed.

It was getting late. They didn’t have any competitions to attend tomorrow, thank Chaos, but they needed _some_ sleep. And they needed to make sure they had gotten everything, so they could report in to Rolfe and collect their winnings. Maybe even before the other classes.

Wouldn’t that be somethin’.

Oswick crossed his arms. “Nope. Haven’t seen her.”

Kato narrowed his eyes. “That’s still not funny, Oz.”

Oswick just laughed.

“Nah, I haven’t seen her since we got here,” said Flynn. “Kind of got too caught up in trying to win that stone-throwing game.”

Sudi shook his head mutely. He looked exhausted, swaying on his feet.

Kato sighed. “Maybe she went back to the school without us.” He wouldn’t put it past her, to finish early and then just disappear without telling anyone. “C’mon. Let’s get you back to the rooms. If she’s not in hers, I’ll go lookin’ for her.”

It was a testament to how tired they all were that no one argued with him.

Kato led them back to the school. The trip might have been shorter than it was between Verdani and the Edge, but it was still too damn long. In the school, they went upstairs to their shared dorm. Sudi immediately flopped face first into bed and didn’t budge. Oswick climbed into his bed, Flynn into the bunk on top. He still looked a bundle of energy, but he’d crash soon. Kato guided Elan to his bunk, then went across the hall to Jezebel’s room.

He knocked three times, but she didn’t answer. He frowned. Maybe she’d fallen asleep. Best to check, to be sure. He pushed it open. The hinges creaked, and he winced, braced for shouting.

But there was only silence.

He swallowed and stepped into the room. It was strangely empty. None of her stuff was on the desk—not her brush, not her hair ties. Her bag wasn’t in the corner. Her armor hadn’t been neatly folded on her dresser, her boots to the side of it. A strange feeling crept into his stomach. He stepped forward.

His breath caught in his throat. The bed was made, but Jezebel was kind of a neat freak, so that wasn’t surprising. What was surprising… was the little row of items, right below the pillows.

A mask. Coins. A card. An uneaten peach.

He shook his head, and knelt down at the foot of the bed. He opened the chest—empty. He pulled open the draws of the desk. Empty. The dresser. Empty. The weapon rack was devoid of weapons. The coat rack had no cloak hanging from it.

Everything was gone, as if she’d never been here it all.

He left the room. He didn’t bother to shut the door behind him. He thundered down the stairs; pulsing panic in his chest. He skidded out the door and darted to the stables.

Vrin was gone.

Kato slumped.

It was true. Jezebel Eramyn had left them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on tumblr, as [livvywrites](livvywrites.tumblr.com/) and as [ladycravenheart](https://ladycravenheart.tumblr.com/). And come check Summer Sands out on [FictionPress](https://www.fictionpress.com/s/3312862/12/Summer-Sands)!


	13. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest, I almost cut this from the story entirely. But then I remembered how long it's going to take for _Lady Cravenheart_ Summer Sands and _Lady Cravenheart_ which I'll be posting once it's finished, and then a series about a side character. So there's that :P
> 
> (I also have fanfics to work on and finish...)

They returned to the school far more subdued than they had left it. The journey was quiet. Kato didn’t sleep much, too busy listening for nightmares that weren’t coming. He was antsy to get back—maybe she had just left early, since she hadn’t been feeling well, and was waiting at the school. A distant hope, perhaps, but… Distant hopes were all he had.

When they reached the school, they found a trio waiting at the gates. For a moment, his heart leapt into his chest. Two of them rode the stupid deer thing Eramyn had (alright, so it was called a da’lia, but ‘stupid deer thing’ suited his mood better right now). But the da’lia were the wrong colors, with different horns, and that hope died in his chest before it could flare up and warm him like it should have.

When they got close enough to properly look, the first person he noticed was the big burly man in the center. He was muscular, with reddish brown hair pulled into a braid and a matching beard. He wore light armor, not the heavy armor Kato would have expected, and a longbow was strapped to his back.

Next to him was an old man, with large pointed ears and stark white hair. Most of his weight was held up by his knobby staff, but Kato got the impression that he was more dangerous than he looked. He wore a set of green, gold, and white robes.

The last was a girl who reminded him painfully of Eramyn—and he scrutinized her closely. He wanted to—he knew it was Jez, of course he did, but if there was any relation… he wanted to see if he could spot it.

She had black hair pulled into a tight braid and the deep olive skin. Her eyes were the wrong color though—a light gray green instead of the golden shade of Jezebel’s. She wore brown leather armor, a small, one-handed crossbow strapped to her hip. A silver circlet held her bangs out of her eyes.

The old man and the girl _had_ to be Eramyn’s people.

Ellis and Rolfe straightened. “Crim!” The honest joy in Ellis’s voice was enough to throw Kato for a loop. Ellis swung himself off of his vryska and made his way over to the man. “I haven’t seen you in years!”

“Ellis,” the man smiled. He knelt down to clasp him a hug. “It’s good to see you well—you as well, Rolfe.”

Rolfe inclined his head, a smile on his face. “I’m glad you are well, Yven. But—I must ask. Why are you here? I thought you were retired.”

“I was.” Yven shrugged. “I was living a nice life as a hunter in Mynera. But then… Mynera was attacked. I did what I could to save people—a far cry from my previous job, eh?—and get them out of the city. Took a long time ‘fore it was safe enough for us to move, though. Now… us three are on the hunt for someone. Thought she might have come by here.”

“Then Mynera _was_ attacked,” Rolfe said quietly. Kato remembered him suggesting it, during that first nightmare—and the way Eramyn had jerked back, the tight, defensive way she’d answered.

He remembered when she’d admitted, though not in so many words, that her parents were dead. He wondered if he could have done more.

Ellis squinted. “You’re lookin’ for Jezebel?”

“Is that what she’s going by?” Yven cocked his head to the side. “I suppose switching to her middle name would afford her some anonymity. Yes. That’s who I’m looking for.”

Ellis shook her head. “You just missed her. She left not too long ago—without a word behind her.” He sniffed. “Ungrateful creature.” Ellis had taken her leaving as a personal offense, but any time Kato tried to yell at him, Rolfe steered him away.

“I’m sure she had her reasons,” Yven placated him. “Was she accompanied by someone? They’d have looked very similar—it’s an Elenai thing.”

“No.” Ellis shook his head. “She was alone.”

Yven grimaced.

The girl frowned. “Redd—why would she be alone? That doesn’t make any sense. She wouldn’t have just left her.” There was desperation in her voice.

“I know, Chlo.”

The old man leaned more heavily on his staff. “Chloe,” he said. “You already know the answer to that question.” His voice was quiet. “Don’t make him say it aloud.”

Chloe’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh…” She sniffed.

Yven turned back to Ellis and Rolfe. “It’s imperative that we find her. Please—if you know where she might have gone…”

Ellis shook his head. “She wasn’t the most talkative creature.”

“She avoided us outside of school hours,” Rolfe said apologetically.

Yven laid his hand over his eyes. “I see. Well, thank you for your time.” He made to get back on his horse.

“Wait.”

He looked at Ellis.

“What’s so important about this girl?”

“Her name is Alinora Mynerva,” Rolfe said. “She’s the next in line for the Myneran throne—and with her parents dead… She’s also the acting queen.”

Ellis paled. “You mean to tell me that scrappy little thing with the bad attitude is a _queen_?”

“But— She worked herself to the bone just to pay for clothes to wear at the festival,” Kato said.

“Every day, when the servants came to clean her room, they always found it spotless,” Rolfe said.

“She never complained. Ever,” said Sudi.

“Ali wasn’t much for complaining,” said Chloe. “She was always the grin and bear it type.” She glanced at Rolfe. “She was obsessively neat. Even her backpack was organized. Hell, her desk was the cleanest thing I ever saw.”

Yven looked at Kato. “We found our homeland under attack quite suddenly. I don’t imagine she would have brought coin with her on an expedition to the forest.” He looked at Ellis, a half-smile on her face. “She’s always been… sharp-edged. I imagine it got worse after the attack.” The smile slipped away. “She probably believes we’re dead—or worse.”

The boys looked at each other. “We might not have graduated yet,” Sudi said. “But we’ll help, if we can. We’ll start going on trips soon. We can look for her—go to places she’s likely to be.”

“Right now,” Kato said, “she’s probably hunting down allies of the people who attacked your kingdom. Start there.”

“She was going by Jezebel Eramyn when she went here,” Oswick said. “Ask around for that alias if you can.”

“I bought her a set of armor. All black leather, except for a red mask over the lower half of her face,” Ellis said.

“That’s helpful, thank you.” Yven smiled.

“You should see about using your old contacts to help gather a force to help you retake Mynera,” Rolfe said. “Much of the Black Swan’s leaders owe you a debt. And if something is powerful enough to take over a kingdom of Elenai—by all accounts a group of the strongest spellcasters known to Eldora—then it is something that should concern the rest of us very deeply. Who’s to say it will stop there?”

“The other elven races will probably rally behind you too,” Flynn said. “Jez said they thought very highly of the Elenai. And they have to recognize the danger.”

“You should stay, tonight.” Ellis said. “I know you’re antsy to find her, but you’re not going to get anywhere by wandering aimlessly. Stay. Write letters to old friends—ask for help. Have your old contacts research. I’ll send out letters to mine as well.”

Yven hesitated. He turned to Chloe. “He’s got a good point. Head back to the encampment. Make sure everyone is settled and comfortable. Let them know we’ll be staying longer. If they need more provisions, get what you can.”

She saluted him. “Yes, sir!” She climbed onto the back of one of the da’lia, and rode off.

He looked at the old man. “Could you scry for her location?”

The old man considered, before shaking his head. “No,” he said. There was something ancient about his voice. “She will keep moving. For me to scry her… she would have to stay in static location. Perhaps… if we were still in Mynera…” he shrugged. “It is not possible for me now.”

Yven grimaced. “Damn.” He looked at Ellis. “I’ll take you up on that offer. We could catch up over a pint or three. I could use it, after all this.”

Ellis snorted. “I imagine you could, mate. I imagine you could.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on tumblr, as [livvywrites](livvywrites.tumblr.com/) and as [ladycravenheart](https://ladycravenheart.tumblr.com/). And come check Summer Sands out on [FictionPress](https://www.fictionpress.com/s/3312862/12/Summer-Sands)!


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